Accessing childcare for children and young people with SEND

The Children and Families Act (2014) and the SEND Code of Practice (2015) set out how all early years and childcare providers, schools and post-16 providers have to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND.

The SEND Code of Practice states “A pupil has SEN where their learning difficulty or disability calls for special educational provision, that is provision different from or additional to that normally available to pupils of the same age.”

The SEND Code of Practice tells us:

• all children and young people should receive high quality teaching through ordinarily available provision. This is called universal support
• some children and young people need additional and different targeted and specialist support. This is called SEN support
• a few children and young people have higher support needs. They will need personalised support and may need an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

Equality Act 2010

Children and young people who have SEN may have a disability under the Equality Act (2010), which is defined as "a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”.

The Equality Act 2010 sets out the legal obligations that the local authority, Early Years and Childcare providers and education settings, have towards disabled children and young people. They must:

• not directly or indirectly discriminate against, harass or victimise disabled children and young people
• not discriminate for a reason related to a child or young person’s disability
• make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services (for example a specialist chair, IT equipment or therapy)

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

The EYFS sets standards for the learning, development and care of your child from birth to 5 years old. All schools and Ofsted-registered early years providers must follow the EYFS, including childminders, preschools, nurseries and school reception classes.

Wherever possible, children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will have their needs met by a local early years and childcare provider.

Providers are not allowed to treat a child with SEND less favourably and must make reasonable adjustments to meet their needs. They cannot charge more for a child with SEND to attend their setting.

Whether something is a ‘reasonable’ adjustment depends on things such as:

• the child or young person’s needs and what support, if any, they receive through an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP)
• how practical the changes are and the resources of the education setting
• the cost of making the change or providing the aid
• if the change requested would overcome the disadvantage the child or young person experiences
• if there are other ways of overcoming the disadvantage
• health and safety considerations and the interests of other children and young people

All providers must have arrangements in place to support children with SEND. Most providers will have a nominated special educational needs coordinator (SENCO), who will be able to assess your child’s needs and discuss what's right for you and your child. In a childminding setting the childminder is the SENCO.

Suggested questions to ask early years and childcare providers

When you are visiting an early years and childcare provider, you will probably have your own questions, but you might find our suggestions below a helpful starting point:

• Can you see their recent Ofsted inspection report?
• Can you see their Special Educational Needs policies?
• What qualifications and/or training do the staff have, and will these be suitable for your child's needs?
• Does your child need extra help and are the staff willing for you (and/or a health professional if appropriate) to show them what they need to do?
• Is the building accessible? Are physical adaptations needed to the building?
• Are they aware of additional funding available?
• What equipment will be essential in order for your child to go to the provider?
• How will they support yours and your child’s transition into the setting?
• If they are a before or after school provider, how will they support your child’s transition with the school?
• Are staff happy to be shown how to give my child their medicine? Do they have the relevant insurance?
• Do they have any questions about your child’s needs?

Be aware, unless a child has very specific needs, we do not encourage early years and childcare settings to provide ‘one to one’ care for a child. Research has shown that this can act as barrier for children accessing a full and rich curriculum and making relationships with peers and other key adults in the setting. We therefore encourage providers to ‘enhance their ratios’ to provide more staff to support all children.

Sometimes choosing childcare for your child with additional needs can feel overwhelming. Find out more about the different types of childcare available to you.

If you are struggling to find suitable childcare, the Family Information Service (FIS) offer an Extra Help to Find Childcare service. This service is available to all parents/carers. The dedicated FIS team will support you in finding the right childcare placement for your child.

Visit the FIS website to search for childcare and access the Extra Help to Find Childcare service.

Specialist provision

Whilst some early years and childcare providers do offer specialist provision for children with SEND, parents/carers should also consider mainstream provision.

Our maintained nursery schools and early years and childcare providers within the private, independent and voluntary sector must be inclusive. They also all have a legal duty to offer extra support to meet the needs of children with SEND.

It is important to note that if a child with SEND attends Specialist Nursery Provision attached to a school, they are not guaranteed a place in the school. An application for the school must be made in the same way as all other children.

Disability Access Fund

If your child receives Disability Living Allowance and your child attends an early years and childcare setting, you should let your chosen provider know, as they may be able to claim funding from the Disability Access Fund (DAF).

Your chosen provider may then receive funding to support your child to access their early years and childcare setting.

If you meet the eligibility criteria for DAF, your chosen early years and childcare provide will receive a one off payment of £910 per year. This could be used to pay for:

• special equipment
• resources
  training

Speak to your chosen provider to find out more.

Inclusion Funding

Most children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will not require special resources or enhanced staffing to be successfully included in an early years and childcare setting. Most providers will be able to meet the additional needs of children, without additional funding.

Inclusion Funding can be awarded to early years providers to support the inclusion of children who are accessing an Early Years Funded Entitlement place.

There are criteria in place to ensure providers receive the correct level of funding support to meet the needs of the child. It is important to note that most providers will be able to meet the needs of children without inclusion funding.

Early years and childcare providers must complete an action plan for inclusion before applying for inclusion funding. This is so they can put ordinarily available inclusive practice (OAIP) measures in place and assess the impact these have on the child. Often OAIP supports most children with SEND.

If a child requires further support above the OAIP put into place, the setting can then use the action plans for inclusion to evidence the needs of the child and how inclusion funding might benefit their needs.

West Sussex County Council are not funded by Central Government to provide one to one care for children in early years settings. Our inclusion funding is a contribution towards supporting a child to access the environment and curriculum. Due to funding restrictions, we do not provide funding to cover the cost of one to one support.

Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)

Some children in early years settings need further support and, with your agreement, the setting can request an Education Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA). This may lead to an EHCP. In most cases, inclusive practice and other available funding can meet the child’s needs without an EHCP.

Visit our SEND page for more information.

Early Years Funded Entitlements

You may be able to get funded childcare for your child if you meet certain eligibility criteria. These are referred to as Early Years Funded Entitlements (EYFE) in West Sussex:

• 9 months to 23 months EYFE for working families
• 2 year old EYFE for working families
• 2 year old Local Authority Issued funding
• 3 and 4 year old Universal EYFE
• 3 and 4 year old Extended EYFE for working families

Help paying for childcare

There are a number of options available to help parents/carers pay for childcare. Visit our help paying for childcare page for more information.

This includes information on schemes such as Tax-Free Childcare. For every £8.00 you pay in, the government will automatically add £2.00, up to the value of £2,000 per child per year (or £4,000 for a child with a disability). Tax-Free Childcare is available for children aged up to 11, or 17 years of age if the child has a disability.

Family Fund

Family Fund give grants to lower income families with children who have a severe disability and are aged 17 or under to help pay for things to make life easier and more enjoyable.

SEND Under 5

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) under 5s process seeks to establish proactive, practical support for families at an early stage, as well as identifying the support needed throughout their early years and into school. Speak to your chosen early years and childcare provider for more information.

Local Offer

The West Sussex Local Offer helps parents/carers and their children aged 0 to 25 years who have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) find information and services. The Local Offer also has a dedicated early years and childcare section.

SENDIAS

SENDIAS provide impartial information, advice and support to children and young people with SEND aged 0-25 and their parents/carers.

You can expect to receive positive responses about provision for children with SEND from all early years and childcare providers. If you do not, you can make a complaint to Ofsted.

If your chosen early years and childcare provider wishes to exclude your child because they have additional needs or a disability, or you feel they are not catering for their specific needs, contact the Family Information Service. Ask to speak to the Specialist Team who will take all the necessary details and refer to an Early Years and Childcare Advisor as appropriate.

You can contact the Family Information Service using the details below.