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Read or download our Early Years SEND guide for professionals
Introduction
Introduction and purpose of the SEND Guide
This handbook is written for early years settings. Its aim is to help them to identify a child’s special educational need or disability (SEND), what level of support they are expected to offer and how to arrange and monitor the support given.
This is achieved through identifying, planning and monitoring the needs of children to support their progress. It also involves making best use of available resources to comply with the Code of Practice 2014 and the Equalities Act 2010. This links with the EYFS and Ofsted frameworks.
If a setting has concerns that a child is finding certain aspects of learning hard – or that they are not making the same progress as other children – they can use this guide to help them to bring together all the information needed to get a more detailed picture of the child’s needs.
Many children will need extra help with their learning at some point but this does not necessarily mean that they have a special educational need or disability (SEND). Children have a learning difficulty if they:
- have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than most children of the same age; or
- have a disability that prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the local education authority
- are under compulsory school age and fall within the definition at (a) or (b) above or would so do if special educational provision was not made for them.
Children must not be considered as having a learning difficulty solely because the language or form of language of their home is different from the language in which they will be taught.
Special educational needs support should be provided for children and young people with SEND. For children of two or over in early years settings, this means educational provision that is additional to, or otherwise different from, the provision made generally for children of their age in their setting. For children under two, it means educational provision of any kind
With promotion and application of this early years SEND Guide in B&H we anticipate there will be an impact in terms of:
- greater consistency of SEND identification
- use of an ‘assess plan do review’ framework
- clarity in understanding how children with SEND are supported in early years
- successful inclusion.
The national picture shows that 3.5% of two-year olds and 6% of three and four year olds are noted to have identified SEND. The school age national data from January 2020 shows 3.3% of all pupils in schools in England have an education, health and care (EHC) plan with a further 12.1% of all pupils getting SEN support.
The most common prime area of need in an EHC plan is autism. For pupils with SEN support the common issues are speech, communication and language needs.
The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2014) sets out how parents and carers should be involved in identifying, understanding and taking decisions about special educational needs (see SEND Code of Practice Section 6.48). The importance of working together is emphasised throughout the document.
- GOV.UK education statistics
- SEN Code of Practice 0 to 25
- Early Years Guide to SEND Code of Practice Sept14
- B&H early education and childcare information
Introduction for parents and carers
If you are a parent of a child with SEND, we are delighted that you are looking at this early years SEND guide. It has been written to help early years settings and is open to parents too as it is on the Local Offer.
By sharing with parent carers, we are making sure the same information is available for families, early years practitioners and other professionals working with your children.
However, it is a detailed procedure guide for special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) in early years settings and uses language familiar to those who work in education.
If you come across something you don’t understand fully, ask the SENCO at the setting or Amaze SENDIASS, which is the local information advice and support service for SEND www.amazesussex.org.uk The Local Offer is also a good place to go for more information: Brighton & Hove SEND Local Offer
In Brighton & Hove there is a strong commitment to working with parents and carers to ensure that you are actively involved in decisions around your child’s SEND. This is the clear message of the SEND Code of Practice (2015), which sets out how parents should be involved in identifying, understanding and taking decisions about special educational needs.
Parents quite rightly like to know how their child’s setting will make decisions about any extra support their child needs, and what that support will look like in practice. This guide may help you understand this.
Many parents find it helpful to understand what their child’s early years setting is basing decisions on. This is particularly important in the early years when you are new to the world of SEND. It can be reassuring and can help you ask informed questions about your child’s support and progress.
If you have time to read the whole guide you will get a good picture of how SEND is managed in early years settings across the city. We hope you will find it interesting and use it to help you work with your child’s setting.
Brighton & Hove vision for equality and inclusion
All the city’s different communities bring the richness, energy and creativity that make Brighton & Hove such a vibrant place. As a council, we want everyone to be able to contribute to our city and to benefit from what it has to offer. The council and schools and early years settings in our city play an important role in tackling inequality and respecting and valuing diversity.
In Brighton & Hove the principles underlying the SEND Code of Practice 2014 inform our inclusive practice. We adhere to the key duties laid out in the Equality Act 2010:
- not to treat a disabled child ‘less favourably’
- to make reasonable adjustments for disabled children.
The Equality Act defines a wide range of ‘protected’ characteristics that these duties specifically apply to. They include disability. The council also provides support for early years settings to ensure that they meet their statutory duties under the Equality Act in line with this advice from the Department for Education. Disability is defined as:
Someone is disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on their ability to do normal daily activities. The overriding principle of equality legislation is generally one of equal treatment. However, the provisions relating to disability discrimination are different in that we may, and often must, treat a disabled person more favourably than a person who is not disabled and may have to make reasonable adjustments to practices to ensure, as far as is reasonably possible, that a disabled person can benefit from what you offer to the same extent that a person without that disability can.
The statutory duties of early years settings are helpfully described in a document by the Council for Disabled Children: Council for Disabled Children Equality Act Early Years Within Brighton & Hove we strongly recommend that early years settings apply the social model of disability to their work with children with disabilities:
The social model of disability says that disability is caused by the way society is organised, rather than by a person’s impairment or difference. It looks at ways of removing barriers that restrict life choices for disabled people. When barriers are removed, disabled people can be independent and equal in society, with choice and control over their own lives. Scope
‘Increasing equality’ is a central principle informing how we plan, finance, deliver, commission and review our services. The early years and school age SEND guides promote accurate identification and support for the city’s most vulnerable children and young people and their families from pre-school to post-16 access to education and training.
Our aspiration is for a more equal city where no-one is left behind, and where everyone shares in the city’s prosperity and is respected.
Role of early years SENCO and where to go for support
What is the role of the setting owner / manager?
Whoever has governing, managerial or ownership responsibility for a setting providing education for pre-school children should ensure that appropriate provision is made for children with SEN – and appoint a SENCO.
Every setting in receipt of government funding must have a named person responsible for co-ordinating support for children with SEND named in their SEND Policy.
Setting owners and managers should consider allocation of time to allow the SENCO to fulfil their responsibilities.
What is a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO)?
A SENCO needs to have the overview of the setting’s SEND policy and practice, as they hold responsibility for the day to day practical implementation of the policy by all staff.
The SENCO role includes:
- Making sure all staff understand and implement the SEND policy and ethos
- Being a ‘point of call’ for staff to give advice and support where needed
- Ensuring that effective systems are in place, eg observations and staff liaison, so that children’s additional needs are identified early, and concerns are acted on
- Ensuring that additional provision is recorded on children’s SEND support plans and they are kept up to date by key staff
- Monitoring children’s progress and their level of need (thresholds)
- Liaising and working with other agencies
- Listening to parents and understanding their views and wishes
- Putting the child and their family at the centre and striving to maintain effective two-way communication with parents / carers to share information
- Keeping the setting’s SEND policy up to date in line with current legislation
- Keeping up to date with current legislation and developments in SEND and sharing with the team
- Coordinating transition of relevant information to receiving school / other settings
- Requesting / leading a SEND review
Where do SENCOs go for support?
Settings will offer internal lines of management and access to appropriate training. SENCOs can link with other early years SENCOs for peer support.
All settings have access to the Brighton & Hove Inclusion Support Service (BHISS) for:
- advice and guidance on SEND through the service’s area SENCO role
- regular early years SENCO Network opportunities
- the SENCO training programme, which is available each term – details and booking via the Learning Gateway.
Universal services to inform SEND support
Health visiting
The Healthy Child Programme (HCP) is the early intervention and prevention public health programme for all children and families. It is offered to all 0-5-year olds living in Brighton & Hove.
The HCP aims to improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities in outcomes as part of an integrated approach to supporting children and their families. It offers families a programme of developmental reviews and information / guidance to:
- give every child the best start in life
- support school readiness and improve resilience for school-aged children.
The 0-5 service is delivered by health visitor area teams. These include health visitors, health care practitioners, administrators and some co-located school nurses. The teams deliver expert information, health assessments and interventions to ensure whole family needs are met.
Your Community describes a range of health services (including GP and community services) for children and young people and their families. Health visitors and school nurses are involved in developing and providing these and making sure clients know about them.
Universal Services provided by the HCP teams ensure a healthy start for every child. All families receive the five universal HCP health visiting contacts. These are: ante natal; new birth visit at 10-14 days; 6-8-week review; 9-12-month developmental review; and a 2-2.5 year review.
The HCP’s universal reach provides an important opportunity to identify families in need of additional support as well as children who are at risk of poor health and developmental outcomes.
Universal Plus provides a swift response from the HCP team when specific expert help is needed. This might be identified through a health check or through providing accessible services. It could include managing long-term health issues and additional health needs, reassurance about a health worry, advice on sexual health, and support for emotional and mental health wellbeing.
Universal Partnership Plus delivers on-going support by the HCP team. It is part of a range of local services working together and with individual families to deal with more complex problems over a longer period.
If a child with identified vulnerabilities is in early education such as a nursery, pre-school, or child minder, they will be offered an ‘Integrated Review’. This incorporates findings from the ASQ-3 domains with the early years Foundation Stage Developmental Assessment categories.
It encourages a partnership approach between parents / carers, the HCP service and early years settings and forms part of the child’s Universal Plus and Universal Partnership Plus. This can be undertaken by a health visitor (HV) in place of the universal 2-2.5-year review or in addition to the universal 2-2.5-year review. The HCP teams in Brighton & Hove should follow the integrated review pathway outlined in the school readiness guidelines.
Early years SEND funding
If a child receives Disability Living Allowance (DLA), or has an Education Health Care plan, they can have free early learning from the term after their second birthday. This continues until they start school. Families can seek more information by contacting the Family Information Service.
The free early learning from two years is for 570 hours a year (or 15 hours a week for 38 weeks a year if the provision is open term-time only). From the term after their child’s third birthday, some working parents may be eligible for an additional 15 hours a week.
More information on these free early learning entitlements, as well as financial support
for parents paying for childcare, can be found at the government’s Childcare Choices website. There is also information on our Family Services Directory, which also lists all the city’s childcare providers.
Additional Support Funding (ASF) may be available to early years and childcare providers. This is to help children take up their free early learning at a mainstream Ofsted-registered provider – a playgroup, pre-school, day nursery, childminder, nursery school or primary school nursery class.
BHISS assesses the need for and administers ASF to support inclusive practice. It can be used to increase the staffing to enhance inclusion for children and / or to pay towards equipment or training for staff to meet identified needs.
ASF can only support children to attend their free early learning. If parents and carers are paying for additional hours there is no ASF paid to providers.
Once a child has reached the term after their third birthday, and if they have DLA or an EHC plan, early years providers can claim the Disability Access Fund (DAF). Providers apply directly to the council for the DAF, which was £615 in 2020-21. The DAF is paid once a year. If the child moves settings the funding stays with the original provider.
The DAF goes towards enabling a child to benefit from the full early years foundation stage. Again, this can be equipment, resources or adaptations to the venue.
Early Years Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS)
What EMAS does
EMAS is a team of specialist teachers, bilingual liaison assistants, and home liaison officers. Their early years team provides the following support for children families and settings:
- advice on assessing and supporting children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) and SEND
- support in community languages for children and parents / carers
- assessment of a child’s language/s other than English
- advice and support to families with EAL to access services for their child and to understand the services and professionals they meet.
EMAS work closely with other professionals to deliver the best outcomes for the child. For example, they work with speech and language therapy colleagues to identify children in need of additional support for their language development.
The team offers support in the main community languages of Brighton & Hove. The languages provided may change to adapt to community needs and achievement data.
Who can refer?
Anyone can contact EMAS for support, and families can self-refer. Parental consent is required, but sometimes it is difficult to obtain consent as the service cannot be clearly explained. We can help you explain the EMAS service to parents
Contacting EMAS
- Phone: 01273 292521
- Email: EMASadmin@brighton-hove.gov.uk
For information about EMAS
- https://www.facebook.com/BrightonHoveEMAS
- https://twitter.com/BHCC_EMAS
- Brighton & Hove Local Offer EMAS
- Understanding the steps of learning for children with EAL in EYs
EAL and SEND
Children with no English but who are communicating at an appropriate level in their home language do not need referring for assessment of their speech and language. Early assessment of all of a child’s languages enables children with speech and language delay / disorders to have appropriate referrals.
There are a lot of cognitive and emotional / social advantages to being multilingual. It is important to take a child’s bilingualism / multilingualism into account and not assess them as a monolingual child. It is important to gather information on all the languages the child hears and speaks, and their level of understanding / speaking in each.
Parents should not be advised to just speak English, even if their child has significant SEND. Children need good role models for language and a link to their culture / identity.
There may be additional factors to consider when assessing a child with EAL. These could include the length of time in the country, whether family have experienced trauma (eg refugee families), and different expectations of developmental milestones.
A diagnosis of SEND can be difficult for any parent. There may be extra difficulties for a parent with EAL, such as very different attitudes / approaches in their country of origin.
Children’s Centres support
Children's Centres provide services and support for parents and carers with children under five. Services vary at each centre according to the needs of local families, but all centres provide:
- child and family health services
- family support services, and
- drop-in and targeted groups for parents.
The Children’s Centre teams work closely with the HCP health visitors. Following a health visitor assessment families and children who are identified as having additional needs can be supported in the following ways:
- groups for families with English as an additional language
- chatterbox groups for children with speech and language delay
- small specialist groups provided by children’s centre staff and / or community sector partners that provide support for families with children with disabilities and SEN.
Some families may also be allocated an ‘early years educator’ who can work closely with the family and child. This can be in their home, at the centre, or virtually. This work will include a time limited intervention in areas such as:
- supporting the child’s development
- healthy eating on a budget and support with mealtimes
- speech and language delay
- support with Parenting (Triple P), and
- raising early achievement in literacy (REAL).
Early years team
This team works with pre-schools, nurseries and childminders registered with Ofsted to develop the quality of practice across the Early Years Foundation Stage.
Targeted support is given to any settings with a ‘Requires Improvement’ or ‘Inadequate’ Ofsted judgement. Other settings can request advice on:
- preparation for Ofsted inspections
- support for new settings and managers
- safeguarding policy and practice
- advice on developing children’s communication
- language and literacy, and
- effective use of the early years Pupil Premium to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children and children in care or previously in care.
The team sends fortnightly email bulletins, holds termly network meetings, sends a Network News and coordinates an Early Years Foundation Stage training programme. They incorporate best practice in supporting children with SEND in the advice and material they share and make links with the BHISS team when more specialist advice is required.
A member of the team also advises holiday clubs and after school clubs and coordinates the allocation and effective use of inclusion funding.
Further information from Early Years and Childcare Professionals.
Inclusive practice: Early SEN identification, support and the graduated approach
‘Inclusion is a journey with a clear direction and purpose: equality of opportunity for all children’.
The aspiration to support every child with SEND to have the best start in life lies at the heart of effective inclusive practice. This should be clear in all Brighton & Hove early years settings.
What does good inclusion look like in early years settings?
- a welcome for all disabled children, secure relationships and support for families when they need it
- respect for difference and a commitment to building friendships and community to the benefit of everyone
- equality of access to play, learning, leisure and all aspects of life
- the active participation of children and their families in decision-making.
- a proactive approach to identifying and removing barriers
- timely access to information and to people with empowering attitudes, supportive skills and expertise.
Before additional interventions are considered, settings need to ensure the child’s learning experience is of high quality. Good quality inclusive nursery provision for all learners should be reviewed by the setting with the SENCO and include the following:
- an effectively differentiated Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum
- monitoring of progress to identify where a child is developmentally
- a range of assessment and screening ‘tools’ to support closer identification of needs
- putting in place effective, evidence-based interventions individually tailored to needs
- identification of staff training needs in SEND and built into the settings CPD programme.
SEND Code of Practice (2014) and broad areas of need
The SEND Code of Practice (2014) sets out the requirements necessary to support children and young people aged 0-25 years with additional needs. Chapter five particularly covers early years, but some other sections may also be relevant at times.
Early years providers must have regard to the Code of Practice and have robust arrangements in place to support children with SEN or disabilities. These arrangements should include a clear approach to identifying and responding to SEN.
Children’s SEN are generally thought of in the following four broad areas of need and support:
- communication and interaction needs (C&I)
- cognition and learning needs (C&L)
- social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH)
- sensory and / or physical needs (S&P)
These areas give an overview of the range of needs that providers should plan for. However, 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 several other areas of SEN. Children with an autism spectrum disorder may also 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 should seek to address them all.
What information to record and how to track progress
SEN registers can act as monitoring tools for SENCOs to record SEND. Any list (register) with key information of children, needs to be compliant with GPDR.
Records kept for children will identify the SEND cycle of assess, plan, do, review. This process includes consideration of the following information:
- SEND early identification approaches
- SEND Support Plans
- identification of progress
- discussion with parents / carers about their child’s progress and any concerns
- SEND list updated following discussion with parent carers
- staff to consider whether the child’s presenting needs are due to EAL alone rather than a SEND
- a diagnosis or disability alone does not indicate a child has SEND
- tools available to support, e.g. Tapestry, Progress Tracker, Developmental Journals, ECAT and Mosaic
- a wide range of needs will be supported as identified in the SEND: guide for early years settings.
Early Years settings are asked to identify if a child has SEND in their termly headcount. They are asked to identify if a child has no SEND, SEND Support or an Education Health Care Plan. Information from the Spring term is then uploaded for the DfE annual census.
Graduated approach framework
Each setting will aim to deliver good quality inclusive nursery provision with high quality learning experiences. Children will respond in varied ways at varied times.
The SENCO will work with the early years staff to adjust the environment and learning experiences to meet the needs of the child and monitor progress. At times, a child will require additional adjustments and the team will plan for, and deliver, these interventions where required working in partnership with parent and carers. These additional interventions form the child’s SEND support.
The Code of Practice describes ‘SEND Support’ being required where a child is identified as having SEND. To enable the child to participate, learn and make progress Early Years settings should act to:
- remove barriers to learning
- put effective special educational provision in place.
Early identification of a child having SEND is important. SENCOs in early years settings can promote early identification by ensuring that effective systems are in place such as observations and staff liaison.
This enables children’s additional needs to be identified early, and concerns are acted on. Early years settings are often where concerns are first seen – settling / new environment / challenge.
SEND Support:
- High quality teaching that is differentiated and personalised will meet the individual needs of most children. Some children need educational provision that is additional to, or different from this. (Code of Practice 1.24).
- This will include children that are receiving some differentiated additional support from practitioners and SENCO within a setting (above and beyond what other children are getting) and those who are also supported by outside agencies.
SEND support should arise from a four-part cycle, known as the graduated approach. Through this approach earlier decisions and actions are revisited, refined and revised. This leads to a growing understanding of the child’s needs and of what support the child needs to make good progress and secure good outcomes. The four stages of the cycle are: Assess, Plan, Do, Review.
Graduated Response Cycle
- Assess
- Plan
- Do
- Review
'Assess, Plan, Do, Review shouldn't really be new as a concept to good practitioners and SENCos. It should be what they are doing anyway - identify what the core difficulty is and plan an appropriate strategy, taking into account how the child learns the best. Then carry out the plan and review how it's working.'
SEND support should be recorded on SEND support plans. They should only record that which is additional to or different from the differentiated curriculum plan that is in place as part of normal provision. All plans should be discussed with parents.
Strategies employed to enable the child to progress should be recorded within a plan. This should include: information about the short-term targets set for the child, the teaching strategies and the provision to be put in place, when the plan is to be reviewed, and the outcome of the action taken.
Targets should be:
- Specific – clear, succinctly worded and understood by everyone
- Measurable – what will the child be achieving when target is met
- Achievable – the ‘next step’ for the child
- Relevant – take a key aspect of the child’s development forward
- Timebound – worked towards for an appropriate amount of time.
The SEND support plan is a working document that should be readily available for the appropriate staff to consult for planning, assessment and to inform the support in place for a child.
Parents should be involved as much as possible in the setting of and working towards targets. Invite suggestions for targets but bear in mind that priorities may differ, and you may have to reach a compromise.
Try to suggest ways in which parents / carers can support the target at home and invite regular feedback as well as input into the review process. It is ok to revise a target if you find it is either too challenging or not challenging enough. Keep parents involved in the process though.
It is ok to review a SEND support plan before the agreed review date if a target has been achieved earlier than expected. When reviewing the plan invite input from all involved, including the child if this is possible. Consider the following:
- progress – has the target been partly / fully / not achieved?
- why? – were appropriate/effective strategies used?
- what next? – how can we maintain progress? Is a further SEND Support Plan necessary or can needs be met your usual differentiated support?
- level of support – is a further SEND Support Plan at the same level needed, or more specialised support?
Please remember to keep reviewed SEND support plans available as they may be needed to show progress/patterns of support for transition or requesting statutory assessment.
The following are links that offer advice to support SEND planning:
- http://www.sendgateway.org.uk/
- http://www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/policy-and-practice/send-reforms/support-for-early-years-settings/
- http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/
Below are some tools to support measuring progress of children with SEND
Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
The EYFS framework sets the standards to make sure that children aged from birth to 5 learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe.
The framework is for all Ofsted registered early years providers in all settings, including nurseries, childminders, pre-schools and reception.
Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Every Child a Talker
Every Child a Talker (ECAT) was designed to develop the language and communication of children from birth to five years of age. The national project involving 51 Local Authorities (including Brighton and Hove in 2010-11) was set up after concern about the high levels of ‘language impoverishment’ in the UK, and how this affects children’s progress in school and chances in life.
ECAT strategies and resources were designed to help staff create a supportive and stimulating environment within a provision in which children could enjoy experimenting with and learning language. ECAT encouraged the development of early language through everyday, fun and interesting activities which reflected children’s interests and enabled them to become confident and skilled communicators.
The child monitoring tool is a resource that is still used in Brighton and Hove by EMAS and staff in early educational settings to identify children who are at risk of speech, language and communication needs.
Every Child a Talker: Guidance for Early Language Lead Practitioners (foundationyears.org.uk)
Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ®)
Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ®) provides reliable, accurate developmental and social-emotional screening for children between birth and age 6. Drawing on parents’ expert knowledge, ASQ has been specifically designed to pinpoint developmental progress and catch delays in young children—paving the way for meaningful next steps in learning, intervention, or monitoring.
Develop-mental Journal
The Early Years Developmental Journal is designed for families, practitioners and others to use as a way of recording, celebrating and supporting children's progress.
This Journal is particularly useful if it is known or suspected that a child being supported is unlikely to progress in the same way or at the same rate as other children - whether or not a particular factor or learning difficulty has been identified and given a name. It is also for people who would like to find out more about children's development in the early years
Early Years Developmental Journal
How to Use the School Years Developmental Journal
Early Years Toolkit
An accessible summary of educational research for early years teaching from EEF
Early Years Toolkit | Education Endowment Foundation | EEF
Personal Education Plan (PEP)
The PEP is the education part of a looked-after child's care plan. A termly Early Years PEP meeting and action plan is recommended for any child who is looked-after in an early years setting. For children of statutory school age the PEP meeting and the PEP document are statutory aspects of a child in care’s care plan. The PEP meeting provides opportunities to plan, discuss and evaluate the educational experience of a child and to ensure that their needs are being met. Meetings and plans are also recommended for children who were previously in care. More information is available from the Virtual School.
Promoting the education of looked-after and previously looked-after children - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
SEND support
Introduction to BHISS
The Brighton & Hove Inclusion Support Service (BHISS) works with nurseries, playgroups and childminders registered with Ofsted, as well as schools and colleges. The service supports children and young people with SEND and their families.
All pre-school providers have an allocated link early years SEND specialist teacher and SEND specialist practitioner from BHISS to support them with practice relating to SEND and inclusion.
Your BHISS link can offer advice about the type and level of support for individual children. Where appropriate referrals are made to the health visitors and the Seaside View Child Development Centre for direct BHISS involvement.
Support offered includes:
- identification of children who need referral to other services
- targeted individual and group interventions within the pre-school setting
- support to implement the graduated approach of Assess, Plan, Do, Review, including identifying targets for SEND support plans and co-ordinating requests for statutory assessments (including EHC plans)
- an extensive and comprehensive training programme covering the statutory requirements from the SEND Code of Practice and the Equality Act, as well as focused training on specific areas of need
- early years SENCO network meetings to update providers on SEND developments and practice and to provide peer support opportunities
- coordination and allocation of Additional Support Funding for those children with complex SEND to support them in their early years setting
- facilitating and supporting effective parent partnership.
From the range of specialist teams in BHISS, the following teams support pre-school children:
- Early Language Support
- Early Years
- Educational Psychology
- Sensory Needs - hearing impairment and visual impairment
Further information can be found at BHISS Early Years Local Offer
Jeanne Saunders Centre – intensive development nursery
Children can be referred for an intensive development nursery place for 15 hours a week by the BHISS Early Years Team, the Speech and Language Therapy Service and paediatricians at Seaside View.
SEND support: strategies for inclusion
When considering a child’s needs the setting and parents and carers should be mindful of using the four categories set out below:
- Communication and Interaction
- Cognition and Learning
- Social, emotional and mental health difficulties
- Sensory and / or physical difficulties.
Early years SEND tool for identifying children’s needs and supporting learning in the four broad areas of need
The following sections have a range of strategies early years staff can use with children with needs in each of these four categories, as described in the SEND Code of Practice.
Each area has a list of things staff may see that indicate a certain need, how they might respond and what support can be put in place.
The level of response is described in a graduated way, from ‘First Concerns’ to ‘SEN Support’ to ‘Complex/ Specialist’ level of needs and support.
This section has been informed by The Cheshire East Toolkit for SEND. It is intended for the exclusive use of Brighton & Hove Council and must not be sold on or licensed to any third party for gain or otherwise. The Cheshire East Toolkit for SEND may be reproduced in part through external media providing such reproduction carries the words: “Reproduced with kind permission of the copyright holder Cheshire East Borough Council ©. All rights reserved”.
Cognition and Learning
Cognition and Learning – first concerns
Indicators - what might we see?
- Evidence of some delay in meeting expected milestones
- Some evidence of repetitive play, restricted interests and limited imaginative play
- May move quickly from one activity to another and may need an adult to ensure learning through play occurs
Response - What should we do next?
- Key person to liaise with the setting SENCO
- Setting SENCO to support in identifying differentiated activities and strategies for the child
- Start the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ process by working in partnership with the parents / carers to plan for the child in the setting and at home, consider using a one-page profile
- Continue to track and monitor the child’s progress
- Contact the child’s Health Visiting Team to discuss the child’s development recorded in the Red Book and / or through the Integrated Review at age 2
- Consider SEND training opportunities for staff members, including from BHISS
- Support children and their families to access universal and targeted services as appropriate in their local Children’s Centre
- For additional support, advice, and guidance, contact the linked BHISS staff for the setting
- If concerns continue, the key person and the SENCO to discuss whether the child needs specific SEN support and to share this with the parents / carers
Strategies - What can we put in place?
- Use the characteristics of effective learning to assess how children are choosing to learn and where they like to go both indoors and outdoors
- Consider how the child plays and explores, is motivated to learn, thinks critically etc
- Find out what gains the child’s interests and attention and use this information to plan next steps for learning
- Consolidate learning by ensuring that the activities that the child enjoys remain available and are easily accessible
- Extend and adapt activities as children’s interests and thinking develop and change
- Consider the environment. Help the child to focus by keeping distractions to a minimum
- Provide developmentally appropriate activities and ensure that the child can access them at his / her own pace, thereby enabling them to achieve success
- Provide activities which are stimulating and encourage children to use all their senses
- Stimulate the child’s curiosity by introducing new activities or changing familiar activities – for example, Lego in the sand tray, cars in the play dough etc
- Provide treasure baskets with contents regularly changed for the children to explore
- Encourage the child to explore both indoors and outdoors and develop a sense of curiosity, eg muddy puddles etc
- Develop sustained shared thinking
- Encourage problem-solving by asking questions. Allow the child time to respond
- Use simple language at a level that the individual child can understand and respond to
- Support language with visual props, for example, Makaton, visual timetables, story sacks, puppets etc
Cognition and Learning – SEN support
Indicators - what might we see?
- Significant delay in reaching milestones
- Evidence of frequent repetitive play, restricted interests and significant difficulties with imaginative play
- Difficulties in retaining concepts over time and / or learning and skills are frequently lost
- New learning needs to be broken down into small steps, and repetition / over-learning are required for progress to occur and outcomes to be met
- Significant difficulties with attention. Requires a high level of support to maintain focus and promote learning through play
Response - What should we do next?
- Key person to liaise with the setting SENCO and parents to share concerns and begin a SEN support plan
- SENCO to continue to support the key person in planning differentiated activities and strategies to support the child
- Monitor and review the SEN support plan, focussing on the child’s progress and the impact of strategies and interventions used. This should be completed at least every 6 weeks as part of the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ process
- Liaise with the linked BHISS staff for support, advice and guidance and ensure that this is incorporated into the child’s SEN support plan
- Ensure close partnership working with parents. This includes sharing SEN support plans, and strategies and interventions to use in the setting and at home
- Continue to liaise with the child’s Health Visiting Team, as appropriate
- Continue to consider SEND training opportunities for staff members, including from BHISS
- Continue to support children and their families to access universal and targeted services as appropriate in their local Children’s Centre
- If child’s development continues to cause concerns and progress is slow, SENCO to discuss a referral to the Seaside View Child Development Centre with child’s health visiting team and with the linked BHISS staff for the setting
Strategies - What can we put in place?
- Continue with any relevant strategies from First Concerns level. Also:
- Consider what gains the child’s interests and high levels of involvement and wellbeing
- Ensure that at each session attended, the child accesses an individually supported learning opportunity, small group time and support during child-initiated play, as based on the SEN support plan
- Ensure there are plenty of opportunities to repeat activities
- Encourage children to use a range of stimulating open ended resources that use all their senses
- Continue to create interesting experiences that develop a child’s curiosity and motivation to explore
- Develop joint attention by following the child’s interests, joining them in their play, and modelling language appropriate to the child’s level of development
- Provide opportunities to explore and manipulate play equipment and materials
- Develop a bank of clearly marked sensory resources that can be used at different times to develop the child’s awareness and exploration of the senses
- Use objects / toys the child is interested in to introduce them to areas of the curriculum they are not currently accessing – for example, painting using the wheels of a car, foam numbers floating in the water tray
- Introduce unexpected objects, place toys in unusual places, and / or introduce treasure boxes of interesting objects for children to explore
Cognition and Learning – complex / specialist
Indicators - what might we see?
- Persistent and significant delay in reaching milestones
- Evidence of persistent repetitive play, restricted interests and severe difficulties with imaginative play
- Significant difficulties in retaining concepts over time and / or learning and skills are consistently lost
- Requires a very high level of individual support to access an individually tailored curriculum
Response - What should we do next?
- Key person to continue to liaise with the setting SENCO and parents
- SENCO to continue to support the key person in planning differentiated activities and strategies to support the child
- Continue to monitor and review the SEN support plan, focussing on the child’s progress and the impact of strategies and interventions used. This should be completed at least every 6 weeks as part of the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ process
- Liaise with the linked BHISS staff for support, advice and guidance and ensure that this is incorporated into the child’s SEN support plan
- Consider the use of early support materials, for example, the appropriate developmental journal
- Ensure close partnership working with parents. This includes sharing SEN support plans, and strategies and interventions to use in the setting and at home
- Continue to liaise with the child’s Health Visiting Team, as appropriate.
- Ensure all relevant staff members have had SEND training to support the child in the setting, including any appropriate training from BHISS
- Continue to support children and their families to access universal and targeted services as appropriate in their local Children’s Centre
- If the child’s needs are significant and concerns remain, consideration should be given as to whether an application for Additional Support Funding and / or an EHC needs assessment should be made. Discuss with the linked BHISS staff for the setting
- If a child is new to the setting, consider the child’s transition from the home / previous setting
Strategies - What can we put in place?
- Continue with any relevant strategies from First Concerns and SEN support levels. Also:
- Strategies used when supporting children with high level needs are individualised and it is expected that they would come from the advice given by the specialist services that support the child and the family
- If the child has an EHC plan the setting should ensure that planning and interventions relate to the outcomes set out within the plan. Progress should be monitored in relation to the outcomes specified in the EHC plan
- Incorporate moving and handling plans and care plans into planning, as advised by professionals
Communication and interaction
Communication and interaction – first concerns
Indicators - what might we see?
Communication
- Expressive and / or receptive language is showing some delay and requires some additional input to facilitate progress
Speech and language therapy (SALT) may be involved and a SALT programme in place
- Immature speech sounds or speech is unintelligible to familiar adults
- Requires repetition, slow pace of language and extra use of key words
Social interaction
- Some difficulties following social expectations, for example, eye contact, conversation, sharing and turn-taking
- Some difficulties communicating with adults outside of the family
- Limited ability to tolerate social interaction, for example, withdrawal from the company of others and a preference for solitary play
- Higher than usual levels of anxiety at times of change (to routine / environment / people) or transition
- Some difficulties following adult directed activities
- Some restricted play interests and / or sticks to preferred activities for example, vehicles, computer etc
- Enjoys and responds better to visual information rather than auditory / language based
- May have some preferences in foods, clothing and become anxious when encouraged to try new experiences
- If upset, may take longer to settle and reassure than peers
- Key person to liaise with the setting SENCO
- Setting SENCO to support in identifying differentiated activities and strategies for the child
- Start the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ process by working in partnership with the parents / carers to plan for the child in the setting and at home, consider using a one-page profile
- Continue to track and monitor the child’s progress
- Contact the child’s health visiting team to discuss the child’s development recorded in the Red Book and / or through the integrated review at age 2
- Consider SEND training opportunities for staff members, including from BHISS
- Support children and their families to access universal and targeted services as appropriate in their local Children’s Centre
- Consider a referral to the early years speech and language therapy service, if not already known to this team
- For additional support, advice and guidance, contact the linked BHISS staff for the setting
- If concerns continue, the key person and the SENCO to discuss whether the child needs specific SEN support and to share this with the parents / carers
Strategies - What can we put in place?
- Place yourself where children can see your face clearly and you can see them when communicating
- Keep distractions to a minimum
- Allow extra time for processing information, answering and completing tasks
- Allow for frequent practice through recall and repetition. Give a warning when an activity is coming to an end. Support the transition
- Support development of sharing and turn taking in small groups and on an individual basis if required
- Offer child choices, for example, from two songs, stories, drinks, and support choice-making visually with objects / pictures / symbols
- Use Makaton and other visual support strategies consistently
- Use specific praise (labelled), eg ‘good sitting’, ‘good drinking’ etc
- Give time to children who have difficulty speaking or who need time to process thinking
- Create a predictable, consistent environment and follow routines
- Support child-initiated activities focussing on communication and language by joining in with child’s chosen activities, following their lead and playing alongside them
- Keep language clear and model language, including social scripts
- Plan differentiated small group activities and resources
- Plan story times that encourage the children to join in. Use short, well-illustrated stories and props, story sacks etc
- Provide resources clearly labelled with pictures or objects of reference, and display visual timetables
- For speech sound difficulties give plenty of time for the child to finish what they are saying, maintain eye contact to communicate that you are listening to them. Model the correct pronunciation for the child whilst avoiding correcting their efforts
- Refer to further helpful resources / information, eg The Communication Trust, ICAN, Every Child a Talker etc.
Communication and interaction – SEN support
Indicators - what might we see?
Communication
- Expressive and / or receptive language is showing significant delay and / or disorder requiring support from speech and language therapy (SALT)
- Additional support required to teach and manage alternative communication systems which may involve support from outside agencies
- Additional support required to provide daily SALT programme of activities - both on an individual basis and in small groups where appropriate
- Loss of previously demonstrated communication skills, specifically spoken or signed
Social interaction
- Frequent and significant difficulties following social expectations, for example, eye contact, conversation, sharing and turn taking
- Persistent and significant difficulties in tolerating social interaction and / or inappropriate attempts at interaction and / or actively withdraws
- Significant, frequent high levels of anxiety at times of change (to routine / environment / people) or transition
- Frequent and significant difficulties in following adult directed activities
- Spends a considerable amount of time on self-directed activities and finds it difficult to cease or move on (may result in anxiety and / or dysregulation)
- May show more interest in objects than people
- Leads adult to get whatever he / she wants or uses adult’s hand as a tool to make toys or equipment work
- Significant difficulties with attention and may move quickly from area to area and from activity to activity with limited engagement and learning taking place
- Handles play equipment inappropriately or uses equipment differently to their peers
Response - What should we do next?
- Key person to liaise with the setting SENCO and parents to share concerns and begin a SEN support plan
- SENCO to continue to support the key person in planning differentiated activities and strategies to support the child
- Monitor and review the SEN support plan, focussing on the child’s progress and the impact of strategies and interventions used. This should be completed at least every six weeks as part of the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ process
- Liaise with the linked BHISS staff for support, advice and guidance and ensure that this is incorporated into the child’s SEN support plan
- Ensure any other suggested specialist advice is incorporated into the child’s SEN support plan, for example, from the speech and language therapist
- Ensure close partnership working with parents. This includes sharing SEN support plans, and strategies and interventions to use in the setting and at home
- Continue to liaise with the child’s health visiting team, as appropriate.
- Continue to consider SEND training opportunities for staff members, including from BHISS
- Continue to support children and their families to access universal and targeted services as appropriate in their local Children’s Centre
- If child’s development continues to cause concerns and progress is slow, SENCO to discuss a referral to the Seaside View Child Development Centre with child’s health visiting team, speech and language therapist and with the linked BHISS staff for the setting
Strategies - What can we put in place?
- Continue with any relevant strategies from First Concerns level. Also:
- Put in place the interventions and strategies from any speech and language therapy programmes / plans
- Identify times and areas of targeted individual support and whether interventions will be individual, paired or in a small group
- Have a strong emphasis on, and consistent use of, visual support which is appropriate to the child’s level of language abilities and cognitive development – for example, objects of reference / photographs symbols
- Remember to talk about what is happening, so that the child hears language that relates to actions as they happen, the activities they are involved in and the objects they are using
- Provide motivation and opportunities for communication – for example, use a toy to excite their curiosity, avoid pre-empting what they need etc
- Observe how the child communicates, who they communicate with and where they communicate and build on this
- Refer to further helpful resources / information, eg Autism Education Trust, National Autistic Society
Communication and interaction – complex / specialist
Indicators - what might we see?
Communication
- Expressive and / or receptive language is showing severe delay and / or disorder requiring support from SALT and progress is slow (despite interventions)
- Intensive support required to teach and manage alternative communication systems involving outside agencies
- Limited functional communication skills requiring individual alternative and / or augmentative communication strategies to access to learning opportunities.
- Sustained loss of previously demonstrated communication skills, specifically spoken or signed
Social interaction
- Severe communication difficulties which require intensive support and clear identified strategies for them to communicate (possible diagnosis of autistic spectrum condition or social communication difficulties which are pervasive in nature)
- Level of anxiety impedes significantly upon behaviour and ability to access the EYFS curriculum and environment
- No understanding of social boundaries in play or other activities
- Persistent and severe difficulties following social expectations – for example, eye contact, conversation, sharing and turn-taking
- Unable to tolerate any social interaction other than in meeting own basic needs
- Significant and persistent difficulties in following adult directed activities
- Frequently overwhelmed by sensory stimuli to the extent that learning is significantly compromised. A high proportion of time may be spent seeking / avoiding sensory experiences
- Significantly restricted interests and strong evidence of repetitive interests and stereotypical play
- Continued difficulties with attention and moves quickly from area to area / activity to activity with limited engagement and learning taking place. May persist with some sensory-seeking behaviours, eg spinning wheels
- Little or no danger awareness – requires close supervision to ensure their safety e.g. climbing, mouthing objects, running, throwing etc
Response - What should we do next?
- Key person to continue to liaise with the setting SENCO and parents
- SENCO to continue to support the key person in planning differentiated activities and strategies to support the child
- Continue to monitor and review the SEN support plan, focussing on the child’s progress and the impact of strategies and interventions used. This should be completed at least every 6 weeks as part of the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ process
- Liaise with the linked BHISS staff for support, advice and guidance and ensure that this is incorporated into the child’s SEN support plan
- Ensure any other suggested specialist advice is incorporated into the child’s SEN support plan, for example, from the speech and language therapist.
- Consider the use of early support materials, for example, the appropriate developmental journal
- Ensure close partnership working with parents. This includes sharing SEN support plans, and strategies and interventions to use in the setting and at home
- Continue to liaise with the child’s health visiting team as appropriate
- Ensure that all relevant staff members have had SEND training to support the child within the setting, including any appropriate training from BHISS / SALT
- Continue to support children and their families to access universal and targeted services as appropriate in their local Children’s Centre
- If the child’s needs are significant and concerns remain, consideration should be given as to whether an application for Additional Support Funding and / or an EHC needs assessment should be made. Discuss with the linked BHISS staff for the setting
- If a child is new to the setting, consider their transition from the home or previous setting
Strategies - What can we put in place?
- Continue with any relevant strategies from First Concerns and SEN support levels. Also:
- Strategies used when supporting children with high level needs are individualised and it is expected that they would come from the advice given by the specialist services that support the child and the family
- If the child has an EHC plan the setting should ensure that planning and interventions relate to the outcomes set out within the plan. Progress should be monitored in relation to the outcomes specified in the EHC plan
- All staff should know, understand and agree on strategies to be used and all support must be implemented consistently
Sensory and physical
Sensory and physical – sensory first concerns
Indicators - what might we see?
- May be evidence of some delay in meeting expected milestones
- Seeks sensory information
- Retreats from sensory information
Seeking sensory information
- Fidgets and finds it difficult to get into a comfortable position
- Enjoys banging toys, equipment and body parts, for example, hands on table
- Enjoys loud noises / music
- Likes reflective / spinning toys
- Enjoys sensory play, for example, squeezing playdough, repetitive pouring etc
- Licks play equipment or furniture
Avoiding sensory information and experiences
- Displays a lack of concentration and finds it difficult to maintain attention - this may vary throughout the day
- Fears loud or sudden noises
- Dislikes bright lighting
- Prefers bland food
- Over-reacts to smells
- Dislikes messy play
- Reacts negatively to another’s touch
- Will avoid wearing certain clothing because of how it feels, for example, jumper too scratchy
Response - What should we do next?
- Key person to liaise with the setting SENCO
- Setting SENCO to support in identifying differentiated activities and strategies for the child
- Start the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ process by working in partnership with the parents / carers to plan for the child in the setting and at home, consider using a one-page profile
- Continue to track and monitor the child’s progress
- Contact the child’s health visiting team to discuss the child’s development recorded in the Red Book and / or through the integrated review at age 2
- Consider SEND training opportunities for staff members, including from BHISS
- Support children and their families to access universal and targeted services as appropriate in their local Children’s Centre
- For additional support, advice and guidance, contact the linked BHISS staff for the setting
- If concerns continue, the key person and the SENCO to discuss whether the child needs specific SEN support and to share this with the parents / carers
Strategies - What can we put in place?
Note: It is important to note that difficulties interpreting sensory information can have a significant impact on how we feel, how we think and how we behave.
- Look at how the child responds to your environment and make changes as appropriate – for example to the lighting, the noises, the smells etc
- In discussion with parents, talk about the child’s likes and dislikes
- Have a space with sensory activities that the children can go to at any time
Seeking sensory information ideas
- Squeezing a small fidget toy
- Helping with heavy manual tasks, for example, putting bikes in the shed, digging in the garden etc
- Putting on a heavy coat or a heavy blanket
Avoiding sensory information ideas
- Planning individual / small group activities focusing on sensory play
- Building up tolerance to sensory play activities slowly, for example, starting off with dry sensory play and slowly adding liquid
- If children are unwilling to touch, offering alternatives such as tools, zipper bags filled with messy play, cling film over tables etc
- Talking to children about what and why things happen, for example noises like the phone ringing, fire alarm
- Making ear defenders available
- Providing a small calm, quiet space, for example, a small pop up tent
Sensory and physical – sensory SEN support
Indicators - what might we see?
- Significant delay in meeting expected milestones
- A degree of difficulty with sensory integration which is having a significant impact on access to the EYFS curriculum and environment
- Extreme reactions to sensory input in the environment, for example, loud noises
- High levels of anxiety exhibited, and a long time needed to calm down when distressed
- Difficult to distract with the usual strategies
- Sensory difficulties may be part of a wider diagnosed developmental disorder, for example, autistic spectrum condition
Response - What should we do next?
- Key person to liaise with the setting SENCO and parents to share concerns and begin a SEN support plan
- SENCO to continue to support the key person in planning differentiated activities and strategies to support the child
- Monitor and review the SEN support plan, focussing on the child’s progress and the impact of strategies and interventions used. This should be completed at least every six weeks as part of the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ process
- Liaise with the linked BHISS staff for support, advice and guidance and ensure that this is incorporated into the child’s SEN support plan
- Ensure any other suggested specialist advice is incorporated into the child’s SEN support plan, for example, from the occupational therapist
- Ensure close partnership working with parents. This includes sharing SEN support plans, and strategies and interventions to use in the setting and at home
- Continue to liaise with the child’s health visiting team, as appropriate
- Continue to consider SEND training opportunities for staff members, including from BHISS
- Continue to support children and their families to access universal and targeted services as appropriate in their local Children’s Centre
- If appropriate, complete an initial sensory processing checklist (for example, the Autism Education Trust’s sensory audit) to highlight children’s sensory experiences
- If child’s development continues to cause concerns and progress is slow, SENCO to discuss a referral to the Seaside View Child Development Centre with child’s Health Visiting Team and with the linked BHISS staff for the setting
Strategies - What can we put in place?
- Continue with any relevant strategies from First Concerns level. Plus:
- Implement strategies and advice given by professionals, for example the occupational therapist, BHISS etc
Sensory and physical – sensory complex / specialist
Indicators - what might we see?
- Persistent and significant delay in meeting expected milestones
- Difficulties with sensory integration which is having a significant impact on access to the curriculum and environment for most of the time
- Requires a very high level of supervision and a highly individualised curriculum
- At this level sensory difficulties are highly likely to be part of a wider diagnosed developmental disorder, for example, autistic spectrum condition
Response - What should we do next?
- Key person to continue to liaise with the setting SENCO and parents
- SENCO to continue to support the key person in planning differentiated activities and strategies to support the child
- Continue to monitor and review the SEN support plan, focussing on the child’s progress and the impact of strategies and interventions used. This should be completed at least every six weeks as part of the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ process
- Liaise with the linked BHISS staff for support, advice and guidance and ensure that this is incorporated into the child’s SEN support plan
- Ensure any other suggested specialist advice is incorporated into the child’s SEN support plan, for example, from the occupational therapist.
- Ensure close partnership working with parents. This includes sharing SEN support plans, and strategies and interventions to use in the setting and at home
- Continue to liaise with the child’s health visiting team, as appropriate
- Ensure that all relevant staff members have had SEND training to support the child within the setting, including any appropriate training from BHISS
- Continue to support children and their families to access universal and targeted services as appropriate in their local Children’s Centre
- If the child’s needs are significant and concerns remain, consideration should be given as to whether an application for Additional Support Funding and / or an EHC needs assessment should be made. Discuss with the linked BHISS staff for the setting
- If a child is new to the setting, consider the child’s transition from the home / previous setting
Strategies - What can we put in place?
- Continue with any relevant strategies from First Concerns and SEN support levels. Also:
- Strategies used when supporting children with high level needs are individualised. It is expected that they would come from the advice given by the specialist services that support the child and the family
- If the child has an EHC plan the setting should ensure that planning and interventions relate to the outcomes set out within the plan. Progress should be monitored in relation to the outcomes specified in the EHC plan
- Carry out risk assessments on a regular basis and incorporate any actions and strategies into planning
- Incorporate moving and handling plans and care plans into planning, as advised by professionals
- All staff should know, understand and agree on strategies to be used and all support must be implemented consistently
Sensory and physical – physical first concerns
Indicators - what might we see?
- Evidence of some delay in meeting expected milestones
- Physical difficulties / delay that may require more adult assistance than expected
- Lack of coordination of physical skills in comparison to peers – for example, bumping into things, falling over easily etc
- May find it difficult to keep up with peers in physical play, which may impact on self-confidence and ability to make friendships
- Difficulties with fine motor skills and control – for example, holding a crayon, pencil etc
- May avoid activities which involve fine motor control, for example, using tweezers, small pegs etc
- Muscles appear to lack strength
- Lacking co-ordination during two-handed activities
- Difficulties with self-help skills – for example, dressing, toileting, mealtimes etc
Response - What should we do next?
- Key person to liaise with the setting SENCO
- Setting SENCO to support in identifying differentiated activities and strategies for the child
- Start the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ process by working in partnership with the parents / carers to plan for the child in the setting and at home, consider using a one-page profile
- Continue to track and monitor the child’s progress
- Contact the child’s Health Visiting Team to discuss the child’s development recorded in the Red Book and / or through the integrated review at age 2
- Consider SEND training opportunities for staff members, including from BHISS
- Support children and their families to access universal and targeted services as appropriate in their local Children’s Centre
- For additional support, advice and guidance, contact the linked BHISS staff for the setting.
- If concerns continue, the key person and the SENCO to discuss whether the child needs specific SEN support and to share this with the parents / carers
Note: If the child loses skills previously mastered, advise parents to contact their health visitor or GP
Strategies - What can we put in place?
- If appropriate ensure that the setting has an Intimate Care Policy in place and that it is followed by all staff
- Provide appropriate indoor and outdoor equipment that provides children with the appropriate level of support, risk and challenge focussing on gross and fine motor skills
Gross motor skills
- Ensure there is enough floor space and provide the child with plenty of opportunities to walk, run and crawl on different surfaces – grass, carpet, vinyl etc
- Provide outdoor equipment that encourages children to balance, climb, jump, slide, lift, pull, push, hang, spin and swing. This could include steps, logs, planks, wheelbarrows, tyres, tunnels, large balls, large blocks etc. Introduce obstacle course to encourage its use
- Create a path with things to step onto (carpet mats for no height or blocks / logs etc.) and paths with defined sections to step into (hoops, ladder on ground, tiles etc)
- Provide opportunities to use ride-on toys and bikes. As the child builds skill and confidence, introduce obstacles to peddle round and traffic lights to encourage stopping and starting
- Play parachute games and chasing games such as musical statues and ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf?’
Fine motor skills
- Provide builders’ trays with a range of messy play opportunities and large surfaces to mark with paint, water, shaving foam etc, using brushes and hands
- Provide a range of resources to build hand coordination, control and dexterity – such as playdough, clay, finger and brush painting, tape, ribbons, string, rope and pulleys, water play equipment, pegs, threading, construction equipment and small world resources
Sensory and physical – physical SEN support
Indicators - what might we see?
- Significant delay in reaching milestones
- Physical difficulties / delay that require adapted equipment and resources and a high level of support
- Physical independence is impaired and requires input and / or programmes from relevant professionals
- Physical difficulties require close monitoring to ensure well-being and safety
Response - What should we do next?
- Key person to liaise with the setting SENCO and parents to share concerns and begin a SEN support plan.
- SENCO to continue to support the key person in planning differentiated activities and strategies to support the child
- Monitor and review the SEN support plan, focussing on the child’s progress and the impact of strategies and interventions used. This should be completed at least every six weeks as part of the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ process
- Liaise with the linked BHISS staff for support, advice and guidance and ensure that this is incorporated into the child’s SEN support plan
- Ensure any other suggested specialist advice is incorporated into the child’s SEN support plan, for example, from the physiotherapist / occupational therapist
- Ensure close partnership working with parents. This includes sharing SEN support plans, and strategies and interventions to use in the setting and at home
- Continue to liaise with the child’s health visiting team as appropriate
- Continue to consider SEND training opportunities for staff members, including from BHISS
- Continue to support children and their families to access universal and targeted services as appropriate in their local Children’s Centre
- If child’s development continues to cause concerns and progress is slow, SENCO to discuss a referral to the Seaside View Child Development Centre with child’s health visiting team and with the linked BHISS staff for the setting
Note: If the child loses skills previously mastered, advise parents to contact their health visitor or GP
Strategies - What can we put in place?
- Continue with any relevant strategies from First Concerns level. Also:
- Implement strategies and advice given by professionals, for example the occupational therapist, BHISS etc
- Provide an environment that supports a child’s developing independence – for example, position furniture to enable children to access resources, activities etc
Sensory and physical – physical complex / specialist
Indicators - what might we see?
- Persistent and significant delay in reaching milestones
- Physical difficulties / delay that require specialist equipment, adapted resources, position changes and a high level of support
- High levels of support for self-care needs
- Physical difficulties require intensive support to keep safe and well
- Loss of physical skills
- Significant medical issues that require controlled medication and intensive intervention throughout the day
Response - What should we do next?
- Key person to continue to liaise with the setting SENCO and parents
- SENCO to continue to support the key person in planning differentiated activities and strategies for the child
- Continue to monitor and review the SEN support plan, focusing on the child’s progress and the impact of strategies and interventions used. This should be completed at least every six weeks as part of the ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’ process
- Liaise with the linked BHISS staff for support, advice and guidance and ensure that this is incorporated into the child’s SEN support plan
- Incorporate any other suggested specialist advice into the child’s SEN support plan, for example, from the physiotherapist / occupational therapist
- Ensure that any specialist equipment advised by professionals – eg standers, hoists, etc – is requested from BHISS in a timely manner
- Consider the use of early support materials, for example, the appropriate developmental journal.
- Ensure close working with parents. This includes sharing SEN support plans, and strategies and interventions to use in the setting and at home.
- Continue to liaise with the child’s Health Visiting Team, as appropriate.
- Ensure that all relevant staff members have had SEND training to support the child within the setting, including any appropriate training from BHISS.
- Help children and their families access appropriate universal and targeted services in their Children’s Centre.
- If the child’s needs are significant and concerns remain, consider whether to apply for Additional Support Funding and / or an EHC Needs Assessment should be made. Discuss with the linked BHISS staff for the setting.
- If a child is new to the setting, consider the child’s transition from the home / previous setting
Strategies - What can we put in place?
- Continue with any relevant strategies from First Concerns and SEN support levels. Also:
- Strategies used when supporting children with high level needs are individualised and it is expected that they would come from the advice given by the specialist services that support the child and the family
- If the child has an EHC Plan the setting should ensure that planning and interventions relate to the outcomes set out within the plan. Progress should be monitored in relation to the outcomes specified in the EHC Plan
- Carry out risk assessments on a regular basis and incorporate any actions and strategies into planning
- Incorporate moving and handling plans and care plans into planning, as advised by professionals
- All staff should know, understand and agree on strategies to be used and all support must be implemented consistently