Addington School Nursery Review

Communication takes many forms at Addington: gestures, signs, objects and pictures all have a place alongside speech. Its nursery provision belongs to a special school for children with severe and profound learning difficulties, so the fit with a child's needs matters from the outset.

Addington Early Years Centre occupies a separate site on Church Road in Farley Hill, away from the main school in Woodley. The centre spans Foundation Stage 1 through to Year 1 or Year 2. Children below Year 2 with exceptionally complex medical or physical needs attend the main site instead. That distinction matters for both support and the family journey.

Total Communication is the school's approach across its classes. In plain language, that means adults use signs, gestures, visual prompts and real objects to help children understand and express themselves. Communication is part of each pupil's learning plan, rather than a separate activity reserved for a lesson.

For learners following the pre-formal and semi-formal approaches, Intensive Interaction and Attention Autism support social communication. Intensive Interaction involves an adult or peer copying a child's sounds, movements or gestures, with opportunities to practise taking turns. Early literacy can involve sensory play and making marks; children work at their own developmental pace.

Technology also has a specific early years role. Children explore everyday devices, use apps and games, and encounter eBooks, photographs and videos where appropriate. Exploration and interaction shape this work. Where needed, augmentative and alternative communication devices provide another means of expression, with support to use them across different situations.

Starting involves a transition plan shared with parents and the professionals already working with the child. Information reaches key staff before the child begins, giving families a practical role in preparing the move.

Across Addington, Personalised Learning Plans connect shorter targets to the longer outcomes in a child's Education, Health and Care Plan. Targets are set and reviewed within 12 weeks of joining, with subsequent reviews each half term. Parents have consultations at least termly. Staff also use email, home-school books and apps; some families have regular telephone contact.

A family support worker is mainly based at the Farley Hill centre. The school's wider support structure includes autism support staff and speech and language therapy staff, while commissioned Sensory Consortium therapists support children with hearing, visual or multisensory impairments. Appropriate staff receive training in intimate care, handling people and communication. These are concrete arrangements for children whose care and learning needs overlap.

Nursery attendance does not guarantee a Reception place. Families must treat Reception admission separately and pursue the next placement through the appropriate application process. Admissions to Addington run through the local authority SEND team, so that is the relevant route for discussing an Addington placement.

The centre's span beyond the nursery years is a separate organisational matter. Children starting there move automatically to the main site at the end of Year 1 or Year 2; that later site transfer should not be read as a nursery entitlement to Reception admission.

Capacity. Addington says it is over capacity and has no places in any year group. Families need to keep this constraint central to placement discussions with the local authority SEND team.

Visits. Prospective parent visits are suspended. New pupils are offered tours during admission and transition, allowing a visit to form part of preparation for an agreed placement.

For enquiries, contact office@addington.wokingham.sch.uk or telephone 0118 966 9073. The early years centre's address is Church Road, Farley Hill, RG7 1UB.