SEND Early Years Team

The SEND Early Years Team recognises the diversity of children’s experiences and varying rates of progress, however there will be children whose rate of progress determines that early intervention is necessary to support their learning.

We are a team of specialist teachers, portage workers and support staff who provide support at home, in early years settings and school nurseries for young children who are experiencing difficulties with their development. We offer support, guidance and training to staff in Early Years settings.

We have knowledge and experience of:

• factors that affect early learning, development and behaviour
• the special support and intervention that will develop learning and improve behaviour
• a wide range of SEND
• early years policy and practice
• SEND policy and practice

All members of the team have significant training, experience and skills in meeting the needs of young children with special educational needs and disabilities.

What do we do?

We work with parents/ carers and children, Early Years practitioners, teachers and other professionals to promote early learning and inclusion by:

• assessment of learning and behaviour difficulties
• provision of advice, guidance and support to parents/carers early years providers and teachers 
• specialist teaching and learning support for individual children or groups of children at home and, in settings and schools  
• provision of specialist play and learning resources
• training for parents/carers, practitioners and schools                                                      
• teaching in a specialist pre-school setting
• monitoring children’s progress
• inclusion support in Early Years Settings

The SEND Early Years team are committed to the principles of early identification and intervention for children with Special Educational Needs.

The SEND Early Years team aims to:

• take a leading role in securing the educational entitlement of preschool children with individual or special educational needs/disabilities
• work in partnership with parents/carers, professional and voluntary agencies to meet the needs of and improve outcomes for children from birth to four years with a range of  SEND and to support inclusion into mainstream Early Years provision.

The SEND Early Years team objectives are to improve outcomes by: 

• working in partnership with parents/carers and professionals to promote access and inclusion for pre-school children with additional educational needs 
• promoting, encouraging and supporting  the educational, personal, social and emotional development and achievements of pre-school children with additional educational needs
• promoting and supporting the early identification and assessment  of pre-school children with additional educational needs
• working with parents/carers and professionals to promote develop and support effective intervention strategies for pre-school children with additional educational needs
• supporting Early Years practitioners Continued Professional Development through training and mentoring to meet the needs of children with SEND

The SEND Early Years team values are:

• Commitment to maintaining consistently high  standards of quality and reliability
• Commitment to effective and reliable service provision, sensitive to diversity, equality and individual needs
• Commitment to Early Identification, intervention and assessment
• Commitment to inclusion in Early Years  Education
• Commitment to our own and others' professional and personal development
• Commitment to fulfil all statutory obligations associated with our role
• Commitment to practitioner, team, divisional and corporate success against a range of indicators

How do we do it?

When we become involved, our support usually includes:

• talk with parents/carers
• home-based teaching support for parents and children, e.g. Portage
• modelling and coaching of strategies for all professionals in schools and settings
• talk with other agencies who may be providing support to the child; e.g. speech and language therapy
• talk with early years staff involved
• talk with other people involved with your child; e.g. school nursery teacher

This will help enable us to work together with you and your child and other staff to improve your child's learning and behaviour.

Services we offer

• Portage home visiting
• Portage supervision and coordination in partnership with family hubs
• support in all schools and settings within early years
• advice to parents on the statutory assessment process
• support and advice on the process of transition to maintained education provision
• training