Early years SEN support (area wide offer)

All children are entitled to an education that helps them to achieve the best possible results or outcomes.

This education should also help them to be:

• confident and able to communicate their own views
• ready to move into compulsory education

When securing funded early education for 2, 3 and 4 year olds, we promote equality and inclusion for children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).

This includes removing barriers that prevent children from accessing early education, and working with parents to give each child the help they need to meet their potential.

The early years foundation stage (EYFS) is the statutory framework for children aged 0 to 5 years.

Unless an exemption has been granted, all early years providers must follow the EYFS requirements for:

• safeguarding and welfare
• learning and development

Early years providers must:

• have arrangements in place for meeting the needs of children with SEND in their care
• review children’s progress and share a summary with parents

Buckinghamshire’s graduated approach sets out how all children with SEND may have their needs met, not just those with education, health and care (EHC) plans.

In line with the SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years, the graduated approach aims to ensure all children get an appropriate education that:

• is relevant to their needs
• promotes high standards and the fulfilment of potential

Early years settings that educate groups of children are expected to have a special education needs co-ordinator (SENCO).

The role of a SENCO involves:

• ensuring early years practitioners understand their responsibilities to children with SEND, and approaches to identifying and helping with SEND
• advising and supporting colleagues
• ensuring parents are closely involved and that their opinions are listened to and acted on
• liaising with professionals or external agencies

Parents know their children best, and it is important that practitioners listen and understand when parents express concerns about their child’s development.

They should also listen to and address any concerns raised by children themselves.

There are 2 points when written assessments can be made available to parents and other professionals. This is when a child is aged:

• 2 (progress check at age 2)
• 5 (EYFS profile)

When a child is aged between 2 and 3, early years practitioners review progress and provide parents with a short written summary of their child’s development, focusing on:

• communication and language
• physical development
• personal, social and emotional development

This progress check identifies the child’s strengths, and where their progress is slower than expected.

If there are significant concerns, or SEND is identified, a graduated approach will be used to support the child. This will highlight where:

• good progress is being made
• some additional support may be needed and what this looks like
• there is a concern that a child may have a developmental delay (which may indicate SEND)

The graduated approach includes activities and strategies adopted by early years providers to support children over time.

Involving appropriate specialists could be considered if a child:

• has an already identified need
• continues to make little or no progress over a sustained period, despite action by their early years setting

The decision to involve specialists should be taken along with the child’s parents.

The EYFS profile, which is for children in the final term of the year in which they turn 5, provides parents, practitioners and teachers with a rounded picture of a child’s knowledge, understanding and abilities.

It is helpful for children with SEND, so we can help plan for future learning and support.

Where EYFS indicates that a child is not progressing as expected, or where their progress gives cause for concern, practitioners should consider all the information about the child’s learning and development.

Where specialist advice has been sought, this will also inform decisions about whether or not a child has special educational needs (SEN).

All the information should be brought together in consultation with parents.

Identifying and assessing SEN for young children whose first language is not English requires particular care.

Early years practitioners should look at all aspects of a child’s learning and development to establish whether any delay is related to learning English, or if it arises from SEND.

Special education provision should match the child’s identified SEN. There are 4 broad areas of need and support:

• communication and interaction
• cognition and learning
• social, emotional and mental health difficulties
• sensory and or physical needs

The SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years advises that practitioners should focus on the prime areas when looking at the progress of children with SEND:

• communication and language
• physical development
• personal, social and emotional development

However, individual children often have needs that cut across all these areas, and their needs may change over time.

For instance, speech, language and communication needs can also be a feature of a number of other areas of SEN, and children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have needs across all areas.

The special educational provision made for a child should always be based on an understanding of their strengths and needs, and seek to address them all.

Support should be family-centred, and should consider the individual family’s needs and the best ways to support them.

Where it is decided to provide SEN support, the practitioner and the SENCO should agree, along with the parent or carer:

• the outcomes they are seeking
• the support to be put in place
• the expected impact on progress, development or behaviour
• a clear date for review

The graduated approach should be used, which may lead to the development of a SEN support plan.

The graduated approach and SEN support plans should also take into account the views of the child.

Parents should be involved in planning support and in contributing to progress at home.

Where an early years setting has taken actions if the child’s needs are likely to be long-term and complex (and involve relevant specialists), but the child has still not made good progress, the setting may consider requesting:

• High Needs Block Funding for short term intervention
• an education, health and care needs assessment if the child’s needs are likely to be long-term and complex

An early years provider can seek advice from an Early Years SEND Advisor by booking a virtual consultation. They can also access SEND support from the Early Years Service through the Early Years SENCO liaison groups that run throughout the county and through the Early Years Training programme.