Nursery for 'forgotten' children with special needs opens

A nursery for children with special needs is opening to help those “who are often forgotten” during early years, its chief executive has said.

Opening on Monday, 4 September, Rainbow Hub Nursery in Mawdesley, Lancashire, is a specialist nursery for children with additional needs aged two to five and aims to fill a void which many mainstream nurseries cannot when it comes to caring for children with special needs due to the ratio requirements involved and lack of specialist skills.

Children 'often forgotten during early years'

Launched by the charity Rainbow Hub, it operates in small groups with rooms of eight, to give children more time to develop life skills, such as washing and communicating, with the support of skilled staff.

“Developing a high quality, specialised early years’ service will help families with a child who has additional needs who are often forgotten during those early years when they are at their most vulnerable" said Lyndsay Fahey, chief executive of Rainbow Hub.

Hungarian physician András Petö and Conductive Education

The nursery provides therapies such as Conductive Education, physiotherapy and Rebound Therapy.

Conductive Education is based on a concept of human potential, meaning that everyone has the capability to learn and develop irrespective of their starting point.

Designed to promote greater bodily control, it is based on the philosophy of Hungarian doctor András Petö. Born in 1893, he championed physical rehabilitation and created an educational framework in which children with disabilities could get an education that met their specific physical and intellectual needs.

Disabled people often spend a lot of their time being assessed for what they cannot do rather than what potential they have. Staff who are ‘conductors’ are trained to observe this potential in a person; to nurture their development and come up with programmes to generate success. It combines education, psychology and medical science to consider all aspects of the child simultaneously.

“What makes our nursery so special, as well as the staff, is the equipment and facilities that we have”, the chief executive of Rainbow Hub told daynurseries.co.uk

The nursery has a music room and an interactive sound beam which can generate different sounds and create music when a child moves their hand or other part of their body into the space. As well as a large outdoor space, the nursery has an active movement room with a large soft play area with a swing, slide and light den to encourage sensory processing.

Qualified rebound therapist

An interactive floor map lets children have fun while engaging in games on the floor. The trained team of nursery workers includes a qualified rebound therapist.

Rebound Therapy uses trampolines to provide therapeutic exercises to people with a variety of disabilities and additional needs. It is believed to help improve movement, balance, fitness, muscle tone, concentration and communication.

Ms Fahey said the nursery "will help families to access the government funded childcare and offer parents the opportunity for respite or even return to work.

“The number we can accommodate at any time will naturally be restricted by the specialist nature of the services and the high staff to child ratio.“

The nursery supports around 25 children a week and will adopt repetitive physical activities incorporating rhythm, song and phrases to help young people with neurological conditions and brain injury carry out simple movements.

The therapies used can help children with physical disabilities, global development delay and conditions such as cerebral palsy, Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), Williams Syndrome, Moebius Syndrome, Downs Syndrome during the early years and acquired brain injury.

After an individual assessment of each child, staff can tailor the service to the meet the child’s needs. The nursery can also give advice for families on issues relating to SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) and support the development of Education and Health Care Plans.

The nursery offers parents with children from two to five years the chance to use their childcare vouchers for up to 15 hours or 30 hours per week dependent on their entitlement.

“We hope that we will be able to offer many children the opportunity to learn, develop and unlock their potential, whilst also supporting their families”, Rainbow Hub’s chief executive added.