Inclusive practice

At North Islington Nursery School we are committed to valuing and respecting the diversity of individuals, the families and the community that we serve. The setting meets the requirements of the Equality Act 2021 which states that ‘…no child or family is discriminated against in terms of the protected characteristics: age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership.’ We value and celebrate diversity and strive to use these differences as teaching points. We want children and their families to be proud of who they are – their voice matters to us.

Staff are confident in using books and stories to tackle sensitive issues around race, religion, gender and sexual orientation. We use circle time and key person time to listen to children and create opportunities to talk.

At the setting we aim to ensure that ALL children and their families are treated fairly and that the opportunities that we offer to support well-being, care, learning and development are provided to enable ALL children to achieve today and for the future.

Sometimes, inclusive practice means making changes and adaptations so that achievement can be made. Not all children learn in the same way and some will need more support and time than others.

Sometimes, children may need additional teaching support whilst they are at the nursery school in order to ensure that they make the best possible progress that they can. Staff use their knowledge of child development and information from parents to identify those children who would benefit from additional support and intervention. At North Islington we are able to offer daily language groups to support children develop listening and attention skills, to build vocabulary and understanding of language. We want children to gain confidence using spoken language, to be able to express themselves and to voice their views and opinions. Staff work closely with our link Speech and Language Therapist and Educational Psychologist to ensure that the intervention is purposeful and impacts positively on children’s communication and language skills.

We know how important children’s emotional well-being is. Children who feel safe and secure and are able to manage their feelings and emotions in an age appropriate way, will be in a better position to learn and take on board new ideas and ways of thinking. We work closely with a Play Therapist and staff from CAMHS to ensure that our children are given support in managing feelings and emotions.

We also provide small circle time’s and one to one work to support children’s well-being.

Our resident artist works with identified and all other children that show interest, to develop their confidence in communication and language which she promotes through art. She leads on work with clay, colour mixing, photography, wood work and modelling. During these activities, children are encouraged to comment on what they are doing, there is shared sense of fun and awe and wonder. Children who are relaxed in play will always be more inclined to gesture, comment or chat freely about what they are enjoying.