How do nurseries support children with SEND?

Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are those who have a difficulty or disability that can make aspects of learning more difficult for them, including at nursery.

Learning difficulties include conditions such as dyslexia and dyscalculia, and children with them tend to struggle with just one aspect of learning, such as reading or maths.

Learning disabilities are conditions that children are born with or that they acquire from some form of trauma to the brain. SEND also includes physical disabilities that might make movement or play more challenging.

In accordance with the Children and Families Act 2014, all nurseries and pre-schools that are registered with Ofsted must accept children aged two or over with SEND (if there are places available), and cannot charge higher fees for them. They must also make ‘special educational provision’ for children with SEND, write a policy and be able to report on the arrangements made and how the policy was implemented.

The 2015 Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years was published by the Department of Education and the Department of Health. It provides statutory guidance for all education and childcare settings about supporting and educating young people with SEND. Northern Ireland has a Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2016, which outlines the rights of people with SEND and local authorities’ legal responsibilities to them.

The Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO)

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, all nurseries are required to appoint a qualified Special Educational Needs Coordinator. In maintained nurseries, SENCOs must also have qualified teacher status and a qualification for SEND coordination. Many nurseries in Scotland also have SENCOs, but it is not a legal requirement.

The SENCO is responsible for coordinating the care and development of all children with SEND in the setting, including:

• Training colleagues in how to care for a child with SEND
• Making provisions for each child’s needs
• Working with parents to provide the best care and learning opportunities for their child
• Liaising with schools to decide when the child is ready for mainstream or a special needs school and any provisions they might need there

How nursery staff can identify SEND in children

For some children, their learning difficulty or disability is apparent from birth. For many others, signs start to show as they grow. Staff monitor each child’s progress and are trained to pick up on signs of a possible learning difficulty or disability, or a physical disability, which can include:

• Limitations with movement, including standing, walking, moving their arms, gripping and hand-eye coordination
• Delayed speech or little engagement with language
• Trouble with social skills, such as not being able to read others’ facial expressions or body language, or having difficulty with sharing and playing with others
• Difficulty with academic skills like learning the alphabet, understanding rhymes, recognising letters and numbers, counting etc.

If nursery staff notice some of these signs and think your child may have SEND, they will discuss this with you and the nursery’s SENCO.

Local authorities have a legal duty to put measures in place to ensure that all children in the area with SEND can be identified and brought to the local authority’s attention.

Planning your child’s care

An Education, Health and Care plan (EHC plan or EHCP) is a plan of how to deliver a young person’s care and education if they have SEND and live in England. It is a legal document that describes their condition, their health and social needs, and how childcare and education providers can help them. The provisions it outlines should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound (SMART). 

To get an EHC plan, you can request an EHC needs assessment from your local authority. There is no lower age limit for children to have a needs assessment and an EHC plan created.

Wales and Northern Ireland produce similar documents called Statements of Special Educational Needs. 

Scotland have Coordinated Support Plans for children aged three and over.

Useful contacts

You can seek further advice on your child’s needs, rights and circumstances through the following bodies.

England

Council for Disabled Children’s IAS service 
Email: CDCquestions@ncb.org.uk

Scotland

Enquire
Telephone: 0345 123 2303
To email an enquiry, click here.

Wales

SNAP Cymru
Telephone: 0808 801 0608
Email: enquiries@snapcymru.org

Northern Ireland

SENAC
Telephone: 028 9079 5779