Find information for children under 5 who have, or might have, SEND and who attend an Early Years setting.
Advice on how to choose an Early Years setting and the different options available.
Children aged between 0-5 years are said to be in their “Early Years”. This is an important time for all children because long term development can be affected by the experiences a child has early-on in life.
A child who is under compulsory school age has a special educational need if they have a learning difficulty or disability that is likely to require special educational provision when they reach compulsory school age or they would do, if special educational provision was not made for them.
Children aged between 0-5 years are said to be in their “Early Years”. This is an important time for all children because long term development can be affected by the experiences a child has early-on in life.
A child who is under compulsory school age has a special educational need if they have a learning difficulty or disability that is likely to require special educational provision when they reach compulsory school age or they would do, if special educational provision was not made for them.
If you struggle to access Early Years education for your child with SEND, please complete this general enquiry form.
Every Early Years provider (i.e. nursery, pre-school, childminder), should have a named SENCo (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator) who is responsible for overseeing the inclusive environment and co-ordinating the SEND practice and provision. They will have regard to the SEND Code of Practice and those providers registered with Ofsted will follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, to support staff to meet each child’s needs where possible, building a positive partnership with parents.
If you are concerned about your child's development then speak to your health visitor. You can also text the Health Visiting team on 07520 615720 if you have questions or concerns about your child's development and they are aged 0-5.
Support may also come from:
If you struggle to access Early Years education for your child with SEND, please complete this general enquiry form.
Every Early Years provider (i.e. nursery, pre-school, childminder), should have a named SENCo (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator) who is responsible for overseeing the inclusive environment and co-ordinating the SEND practice and provision. They will have regard to the SEND Code of Practice and those providers registered with Ofsted will follow the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework, to support staff to meet each child’s needs where possible, building a positive partnership with parents.
If you are concerned about your child's development then speak to your health visitor. You can also text the Health Visiting team on 07520 615720 if you have questions or concerns about your child's development and they are aged 0-5.
Support may also come from:
All Early Years providers are required to offer an inclusive environment and to understand and respond to individual children’s needs working in partnership with parents and carers.
They will:
All Early Years providers are required to offer an inclusive environment and to understand and respond to individual children’s needs working in partnership with parents and carers.
They will:
Wraparound childcare (breakfast and after school clubs) and holiday activity providers should align their policies and procedures to the SEND Code of Practice to meet each child or young person’s needs just as a school or early years setting should.
Any company running a breakfast or after school club based at a school should have been chosen carefully by the school and agreed to be inclusive. If your child is struggling to access the breakfast or after school club based in a school, speak to the school to ask what support they can give to help. This might be advising the club on what strategies work for your child in school or helping them to understand your child's needs better.
The Equality Act 2010 put a duty on all services to be inclusive and to make reasonable adjustments to ensure any person with a disability can access the services they provide.
Read the definition of disability used in the Equality Act 2010.
Useful guide to choosing an after school club for your child with SEND.
Wraparound childcare (breakfast and after school clubs) and holiday activity providers should align their policies and procedures to the SEND Code of Practice to meet each child or young person’s needs just as a school or early years setting should.
Any company running a breakfast or after school club based at a school should have been chosen carefully by the school and agreed to be inclusive. If your child is struggling to access the breakfast or after school club based in a school, speak to the school to ask what support they can give to help. This might be advising the club on what strategies work for your child in school or helping them to understand your child's needs better.
The Equality Act 2010 put a duty on all services to be inclusive and to make reasonable adjustments to ensure any person with a disability can access the services they provide.
Read the definition of disability used in the Equality Act 2010.
Useful guide to choosing an after school club for your child with SEND.
If you have a child who has a special educational need or disability (SEND) and you have questions or are concerned about how they are being supported in their early years education setting who can you talk to?
The staff who are working directly with your child, including their ‘Keyperson’ should be able to help resolve most, if not all concerns that you might have, although they may need to take advice from other colleagues depending on the situation.
Every child is allocated a keyperson who takes responsibility for getting to know you and your child.
They should be your first port of call if you have any questions or concerns about how well your child’s needs are being met.
There are many ways this could be done including; parents evenings, home-school books, parent helper role or informal chats at pick-up and drop-off time. But if you feel you need a meeting to talk through your concerns in more depth your keyperson will be happy to arrange that.
Every child is allocated a keyperson who takes responsibility for getting to know you and your child.
They should be your first port of call if you have any questions or concerns about how well your child’s needs are being met.
There are many ways this could be done including; parents evenings, home-school books, parent helper role or informal chats at pick-up and drop-off time. But if you feel you need a meeting to talk through your concerns in more depth your keyperson will be happy to arrange that.
Every nursery, pre-school or childminding service has a named and trained SENCo who is responsible for ensuring the needs of every child with SEND are catered for.
Your SENCo will be able to support you and your child’s keyperson with any planning and reviewing of your child’s educational targets or the implementation of suggested strategies.
If you have spoken to your allocated keyperson but would like some additional support or advice or feel that your questions or concerns have not been sufficiently addressed, please do speak to the SENCo. The SENCo will ensure that all staff working with your child are aware of your concerns and your child’s needs and will regularly update the room leader or supervisor with ongoing plans and the outcome of any targets set.
Every nursery, pre-school or childminding service has a named and trained SENCo who is responsible for ensuring the needs of every child with SEND are catered for.
Your SENCo will be able to support you and your child’s keyperson with any planning and reviewing of your child’s educational targets or the implementation of suggested strategies.
If you have spoken to your allocated keyperson but would like some additional support or advice or feel that your questions or concerns have not been sufficiently addressed, please do speak to the SENCo. The SENCo will ensure that all staff working with your child are aware of your concerns and your child’s needs and will regularly update the room leader or supervisor with ongoing plans and the outcome of any targets set.
The room leader or supervisor has the day to day responsibility for ensuring that all their staff are providing quality inclusive practice.
If you have spoken to the SENCo but feel that your questions or concerns have not been sufficiently addressed, please do speak to the room leader, supervisor or manager.
The room leader or supervisor has the day to day responsibility for ensuring that all their staff are providing quality inclusive practice.
If you have spoken to the SENCo but feel that your questions or concerns have not been sufficiently addressed, please do speak to the room leader, supervisor or manager.
The manager or owner has the overall responsibility for ensuring the pre- school, nursery or childminding service is fully inclusive and endeavours to meet the needs of all of the children in their care.
Speak to the manager or the owner if you still have questions or concerns regarding your child’s needs being met. If the service is a community led provision you may want to speak to the chair of the committee.
The manager or owner has the overall responsibility for ensuring the pre- school, nursery or childminding service is fully inclusive and endeavours to meet the needs of all of the children in their care.
Speak to the manager or the owner if you still have questions or concerns regarding your child’s needs being met. If the service is a community led provision you may want to speak to the chair of the committee.
SENCos receive regular support and guidance from Hampshire’s Services for Young Children (SfYC) Inclusion Setting Support Officers (ISSOs). They offer support for meeting the individual needs of children with SEND as well as local termly support groups and training opportunities.
Please do contact the Inclusion Service if you feel your questions or concerns are not being fully met by your pre-school, nursery or childminding service.
SENCos receive regular support and guidance from Hampshire’s Services for Young Children (SfYC) Inclusion Setting Support Officers (ISSOs). They offer support for meeting the individual needs of children with SEND as well as local termly support groups and training opportunities.
Please do contact the Inclusion Service if you feel your questions or concerns are not being fully met by your pre-school, nursery or childminding service.
Hampshire SENDIASS have advice on their website about what SEN support should be available to children in Early Years settings.
Hampshire SENDIASS have advice on their website about what SEN support should be available to children in Early Years settings.
Read more about the things to consider when visiting a service.
A platform offering resources to help with educational needs.
Providing nursery places for pre-school children across Hampshire with significant/complex special educational needs.