SEN and disability in the early years

The Children and Families Act 2014 defines SEN as:

a child has a special educational need if they have a learning difficulty or disability that calls for special educational provision
a learning difficulty is a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age
a disability is a disability that prevents or hinders a child from taking advantage of the facilities generally available
special educational provision is provision that is additional to or different from that which is normally available in mainstream settings. For a child under the age of 2, special educational provision means provision of any kind
a child under school age has SEN if he or she is likely to have SEN when they reach school age, or would do so if special educational provision were not made for them

Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo)

All settings will have a nominated member of staff to act as Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo). The SENCo is required to:

Ensure all practitioners in the setting understand their responsibility to children with SEND .
Ensure that children with SEND are identified and their needs are met.
Advise and support colleagues in the setting.
Make contact with other professionals and outside agencies working with children, such as Health Visitors and Speech and Language Therapists

SEND is the responsibility of everyone in the setting.

Advice, support and guidance for SENCos

The Local Authority supports settings to provide high quality inclusive practice and provision. This includes supporting all settings to deliver Quality First Teaching.

Quality First Teaching

Quality First Teaching is the foundation for all children attending a setting. It covers in the moment and planned interactions between adults and children and how the indoor, outdoor and emotional environment enable these to happen. Practitioners should consider:

communicating and modelling language at the appropriate level Top Tips for Talking (PDF, 304KB)

showing, explaining, demonstrating resources
exploring ideas; encouraging, questioning, recalling in the moment
commenting on what children are doing
offering challenges
enhancing resources in response to children’s interests
the structure and routine of the day

Statutory document

Code of practice (see chapter 5 early years providers)

Guidance documents

Support

The Early Years SEN helpline

Consultations – SEND, PSED, Speech and Language

All settings can access a specialist consultation if they have any concerns about the development of a child in their setting.

SEND consultations with an Early Years Consultant for SEND
PSED consultations with members of the Quality and Inclusion team
Speech and Language consultations with a specialist Speech and Language Therapist

These virtual appointments are an opportunity to discuss concerns and receive advice on how best to support the child including suggestions on how to adapt your practice or your environment, strategies you can implement that may help the child to learn and progress or what additional support may be available for the child. You will be required to obtain parent’s permission and complete some paperwork prior to the consultation.

To book on one of these consultations email earlyyearsandchildcareteam@cheshireeast.gov.uk

Key Professionals

Portage, Quality and Inclusion Practitioners

All settings have a member of the Quality and Inclusion team who will offer support and guidance for children who require additional support.

Specialist Speech and Language Therapists

Two Specialist Speech and Language Therapists work within the Team focusing on children’s speech and language development, up to and including SEND Support level.

They also offer training to early years settings and the Early Start Team.

Through partnership working, Cheshire East is producing a Speech, Language and Communication Pathway.

Facebook Cheshire East Chatters

Model SEND Policy

Cheshire East Model SEND policy guidance - 2015 (MS Word, 683KB)

Early identification of children not reaching age related expectations

The setting should:

Provide appropriate targets at First Concerns to be reviewed after 4-6 weeks.
Plan targeted activities with an adult or in a small group
Make some changes to the routine and environment for the child
Share this with the child’s parents or carers

Identifying children at SEND Support and providing the appropriate practice and provision

That is: provision that is additional to and different from the mainstream curriculum

The setting should:

Arrange a Child Centred Planning Meeting (CCPM)
Implement a SEND Support plan
Make changes to the routine and the environment, including additional resources
Plan and deliver targeted groups and interventions

Refer to:

SEN support in the early years - a graduated approach

Assess, plan, do and review

Transitions

Transition meeting paperwork (MS Word, 763KB)

Early Years Funding guidance and dates

The Early Years Forum

The Early Years Forum meets monthly in the 3 localities. The role of the Forum is to:

Receive and discus SEND notifications from health partners and allocate support accordingly.
Act as the SEND Inclusion Funding Panel

SEND Inclusion Funding

SEND Inclusion Funding is available to support children in early years settings as required. This funding can be used for enhancing ratios, accessing training, and purchasing additional resources to enable the child to access their Free Early Educational Entitlement (FEEE).

Use the application button to make your application for SEND Inclusion Funding or submit a review for SEND funding

Apply for SEND Inclusion Funding