All Aboard Nursery

In May 2022, children at All Aboard Nursery communicated through gestures, pictures and single words. This specialist Swindon setting provides daytime care for three- and four-year-olds whose additional needs centre on social communication and interaction, including autism. Its purpose is specific: adapt early learning to the child, with individual support rather than a single expectation of how children should participate.

At its 17 May 2022 inspection, Ofsted rated the nursery Outstanding, found that children with additional needs made excellent progress from their starting points, and judged safeguarding effective. Those are dated judgements. The current support arrangements include a key person for each child, individual planning and regular discussions with families.

There are 12 places in total. The nursery operates during term time, with weekday opening hours of 8.45am to 3.30pm, so its practical fit is with families seeking specialist preschool support within that timetable.

Learning and Activities

The Early Years Foundation Stage provides the starting point for planning: children develop communication, independence and social understanding through activities adapted to their needs. Here, the additional layer is individual learning programmes for children with social communication difficulties, including autism. Practitioners adjust challenges and the ways children can take part, rather than expecting everyone to respond in the same way.

Visual timetables and communication boards help make activities and choices understandable. Adaptations can include simpler activities, extra time to process language, individual work and changes to resources or staffing. These are practical mechanisms for participation. Speech and language therapy, specialist equipment and support from external agencies can also form part of a child's provision, depending on need.

In May 2022, sensory play included painting with yoghurt and making marks at an easel. Adults demonstrated activities and talked alongside children's play. During songs, children selected an object that prompted the next rhyme; story sessions used props and discussion of feelings. These examples show how familiar early-years activities were adjusted to engage children at different developmental stages.

Space and Sensory Needs

The nursery occupies ground-floor space in an industrial unit, with children's rooms, a sensory room and a large outdoor playground. The sensory room offers a quieter setting for children who need a break from a busy activity space. Window blinds and subdued decoration help control the visual environment, while adjustable tables and chairs allow furniture to suit different needs.

Low storage gives children access to resources themselves. Tactile boards, sensory bins and visual schedules provide different ways to explore and understand an activity. Outside, sensory gardens, sandboxes and quiet zones create a choice between active play and calmer spaces. For a family whose child is sensitive to stimulation, that choice matters as much as the equipment itself.

Relationships and Communication

Every child has a key person who supports the family, helps with the move into nursery and develops the child's next steps. An online Learning Journey records achievements throughout attendance. That gives parents a continuing account of development alongside conversations with staff.

The nursery provides termly progress reports, and the key person or SENCO meets families six times a year to agree outcomes, review progress and discuss support. After discussions, agreed actions are recorded, shared with relevant staff and copied to parents. This makes the division of responsibilities between home and nursery explicit.

In May 2022, key persons made time for parents at the beginning and end of sessions, and familiar favourite activities helped children settle. Children could express needs through signs, pictures, gestures or words. Adults responded to these different forms of communication, rather than treating speech as the only way to make a choice.

Inclusion and Wellbeing

An Individual Support Plan is put in place for every child. The SENCO oversees its design and implementation, arranges reviews and coordinates referrals and advice from other agencies. A Development Summary is updated each term, providing a basis for deciding what support should come next.

The graduated approach means assessing needs, agreeing support, putting it into practice and reviewing its effect. Interventions are reviewed after six weeks; meetings with other professionals involved in the child also take place at least every six weeks. Where a child has an education, health and care plan, an annual review forms part of this process.

Staff training includes early communication, autism awareness and sensory integration, with further development linked to children's emerging needs. Emotional support includes play about feelings and individual behaviour support plans. The nursery also has designated safeguarding lead and deputy roles.

Moving on is planned with the receiving setting. Once a primary school is identified, its SENCO and Reception teacher are invited to meet the child, join relevant reviews and share support strategies. Visits to the school and rehearsal of its routines help make the change more familiar; receiving staff can also receive training and outreach support when requested.

Sessions and Attendance

The address is Unit 16, Headlands Trading Estate, Swindon, SN2 7JQ. Opening hours are 8.45am to 3.30pm, Monday to Friday, during term time; the nursery closes for school holidays.

Applications usually follow a recommendation from a professional who already knows the child. Possible recommenders include a health visitor, speech and language therapist, the portage team or Swindon Early years Consultant. The purpose is to establish whether the child meets the criteria for this specialist provision.

A completed waiting-list form leads to an assessment of suitability. This can involve telephone conversations with parents and professionals, visits to a child's mainstream setting and a family visit to All Aboard. Admission follows the date the form was received and the child's birthday for funding purposes. Enquiries can be made on 01793 387807.

Funding and Everyday Arrangements

Funding is usually through the government's 15 or 30 hours of free childcare schemes, depending on eligibility. The nursery's support arrangements also include preparing documents for early-years funding applications and working with other settings where a child has shared care.

Children bring packed lunches from home and eat in their nursery rooms. This allows families to choose familiar food suited to their child's dietary needs.

The nearest bus stop is on Headlands Grove, outside the trading estate. Parking guidance is given when children start and reinforced through newsletters or emails.

• Specialist entry criteria. Applications generally follow a professional recommendation, followed by an assessment of suitability. During a visit, discuss how your child's communication and sensory needs would shape their individual plan.
• Term-time timetable. Opening hours end at 3.30pm and the nursery closes for school holidays. Families need an attendance arrangement that fits those boundaries.
• Physical access. The accessibility audit identified difficult door thresholds and recommended ramps for the entrance and the route to the playground. Wheelchair-using families should discuss those routes during their visit.
• Funding and daily supplies. Funded childcare depends on eligibility, and lunches come from home. What would your child's agreed attendance involve for any private hours, other charges and non-food supplies?

All Aboard suits families seeking specialist preschool provision for a child with social communication or interaction difficulties, including autism, within a term-time weekday timetable. Individual plans, communication aids and scheduled family reviews give its offer concrete shape. The Outstanding judgement belongs to May 2022; today's decision rests on matching the child's needs to the specialist entry criteria and assessing how the support arrangements would work for that family.