The Prime Minister visits Kids nursery

The children at Kids’ Basingstoke nursery shared the joy of their morning session today with the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Dame Maria Miller DBE, MP for Basingstoke.

The visit provided an opportunity for both politicians to experience a truly inclusive setting where all children – those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their non disabled friends – come together and thrive in the same environment.

Katie Ghose, Chief Executive of Kids said: “We are thrilled that the Prime Minister showed a keen interest in seeing our inclusive nursery in action. I am so proud of how our nursery brings together children with and without disabilities to explore, have fun and grow in a really supportive setting.

“Our ambition is for every child to have access to this kind of joyful, safe and truly inclusive provision. We know from our early years services both here in Hampshire and elsewhere in England that when specialist support is funded, a significant number of children with SEND are supported to successfully transition to a mainstream school or to another setting that meets their needs. Families tell us they are battling to get the help they need and our team are brilliant navigators of the complex system and are always there by their side. I was delighted to show Rishi Sunak and Maria Miller the incredible benefits that this approach delivers for the whole family.”

The Prime Minister and Maria Miller joined in with a range of fun activities: some sensory games exploring London landmarks, using motor skills to reveal recent football results of the Prime Minister’s favourite team, and ‘circle time’ to support the children’s listening and social skills. The Prime Minister then uncovered a hand-written invitation from the children to open his own mini football stadium. The visit ended with pretend afternoon tea with Mounir, Edward and Awberry who presented their guests with a picture featuring their hand-prints and the message “Our hands have come together for you to help us with our future”.

Kids’ nursery features a garden, a sensory room and a space designed for speech and language development.  Our practitioners ensure a focus on active learning to ignite the child’s imagination and promote essential motor skills and communication development.

Our team bring their specialist expertise to support children who are facing other challenging circumstances in their lives. They also help parents and carers to navigate a complex system and come out the other side with confidence and clarity about their future.

Kids is collaborating widely to secure rights, resources and recognition for children with SEND in the early years. The charity wants every family with a disabled child to have access to a childcare place that can meet their needs.