In August 2025, we spoke to Katie Bateson of Sunshine Nursery in Sunbury about her nursery’s use of Blossom following the release of our specially-designed SEND framework, Blossom Pathways.
What were Sunshine Nursery using before Blossom Pathways?
Before Blossom Pathways we were using the standard Birth to 5 Matters EYFS Curriculum alongside our own internal support paperwork for children with SEND. They did get Golden Moments sent home with areas ticked but it was very difficult for staff to pick out where some of the children’s achievements fit within the curriculum to be able to accurately share this with parents and ultimately meant more work for the staff.
Now, not only can we share those smaller important moments that the mainstream curriculums miss with parents, it also makes it easier for staff to share accurate updates with other professionals as they can see progress at a glance as well.
What does Sunshine Nursery love about Blossom?
We were so excited when we saw the new Blossom Pathways update and how inclusive it was going to be for our children. We love the way it focuses on the positives and allows you to celebrate all the achievements children with SEND make throughout their session, no matter how small, that may be missed if you’re focussing on the normal EYFS curriculums.
The fact there is one age range across the whole curriculum really speaks volumes about Blossom Pathway's inclusivity
The fact there is one age range across the whole curriculum really speaks volumes about Blossom Pathway’s inclusivity and it has been really well received not just by staff but by parents too, who were over the moon that their child’s individual achievements such as new tactile responses were being recorded. You can tell that lots of thought has gone into this update from the Blossom team.
Our Local Authority and Ofsted seemed really impressed with Blossom Pathways, both with the fact it exists at all and the way it’s been designed to be so inclusive. Surrey County Council are even going to follow up with us to see how it’s going in practice down the line.
Is there anything else you find especially useful about Blossom?
The new Blossom Medication Forms will be such a help in our nursery, they are very easy to navigate and we can’t wait to start using them in the new school year.
Before medical forms we were using the comments section on the register to log medication like antibiotics and suncream application etc so that the parents had a form of log (we don’t give Calpol at nursery).
The new Blossom Medication Forms are very easy to navigate and we can't wait to start using them in the new school year.
For longer term medications such as for Type 1 Diabetes we had designed and were printing our own log and form for the parents to see at the beginning and end of the day. Now however, with the new medication form we can now share these with parents throughout the day so they can feel reassured that their child is being treated when necessary.
