Additional needs nursery pilot to begin in Jersey

The pilot for two to three year olds is part of plans to extend nursery and childcare provision

A new nursery for toddlers with additional needs is being trialled in Jersey.

The pilot scheme for two to three year olds will open in October at d'Auvergne School, beginning with eight children, as part of the minister for education's plans to extend nursery and childcare provision.

The trial is part of the government's proposed 2025 budget, with a total spend of £226m for children, families, education and lifelong learning planned.

Deputy Ward said it was "the first step and one of a number of possible options" to provide support to parents and carers.

'Worth every penny'

He said: "This is a very targeted provision to help the organisation work with the school to see how that's going to be successful - it will involve two to three-year-old children being identified as particularly needing of that provision to come in and be part of a new nursery.

"The earlier that we can assist families and young children and get them into that process of adapting to being in groups and moving forward the better it is for their long term education."

Mr Ward said it was "worth every penny" and an "investment in our future".

The government said it was exploring opening more support across other nurseries in the future in conjunction with the Jersey Child Care Trust (JCCT).

Head teacher Sam Cooper said the pilot added to the school's "inclusive nature"

Head teacher of d’Auvergne Sam Cooper said it was "very happy to support the pilot".

He said: "If we can work with those families from the earliest of ages we know that they're going to be on a tremendous setting when they come into our nursery provision.

"We're really proud of our inclusive nature of the school... it's not a classroom, it's a real quality early years setting for two-year-olds."

The provision will be known as Play and Learn at d'Auvergne, with one session a week set to include the children's families too.

Fiona Vacher said there would be "a workforce there ready" for future rollouts

Fiona Vacher, executive director of JCCT, said the trust wanted to ensure all children had access to "the nurture, care and learning they need to thrive".

She said: "It was very important for us to focus on children with additional needs because that is what we've been doing for the last few years - targeting our spend on those that need it the most for us makes complete sense.

"We have recruited new staff in from what seems to be a new untapped workforce, we've had people come forward to work with us... we were very surprised to be honest."

Ms Vacher said there would be "a workforce there ready" for future rollouts.