SEND childcare and early years

All childcare providers must:

• give children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) the same opportunities as any other child
• not charge more money to look after children with SEND
• make reasonable adjustments so that children with SEND can use their services
• follow statutory guidance called the SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years to provide support to children who have special educational needs. Chapter 5 is for early years providers.

Local childcare providers for children aged 0 to 5 with SEND include:

• day nurseries which are registered with Ofsted and offer morning to early evening care that is suitable for working parents, where your child is looked after with a group of children
• preschools which are registered with Ofsted and normally follow school hours (for example, 9 am to 3 pm), but some run for longer hours and offer breakfast and after school clubs
• nannies who care for your child in your home
• childminders who are registered with Ofsted and care for your child in their home, often with a small group of children
• school nurseries and nursery schools which are registered with Ofsted and normally follow school hours (for example, 9 am to 3 pm), but some run for longer hours and offer breakfast and after school clubs

Use our directory to find local childcare:

To choose the right childcare, you should ask if a provider has:

• Check the provider has a Disclosure and Disbarring Service (DBS) certificate. You can ask to see a copy.
• Look at the Ofsted report, which checks if practitioners in childcare settings are suited to working with children and provides useful information about the quality of provision.

You should also:

• visit the provider before signing up, to make sure their building has the right facilities for your child
• check if the staff are trained to work with children with SEND
• Check the settings local offer which can be found when you search for a childcare provider on the Family Information Service Directory.