SEND Support in Early Years and Childcare Settings

The early years are, in many respects, the most important period for identifying and supporting Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. The brain’s developmental plasticity (its capacity to form new neural connections) is at its peak in the first five years of life. Intervention in this period, when it is well-targeted and well-delivered, produces significantly better outcomes than the same intervention delivered later. Conversely, SEND that is identified late (or not identified at all) can result in years of avoidable difficulty and distress. Early years practitioners who are well-equipped to identify and support SEND are doing some of the most important work in the education system.

The EYFS places a specific duty on registered providers to review children’s progress and to identify children whose development may be lagging behind, or diverging from, typical developmental patterns. This duty is not onerous (it is what good early years practice already involves) but it is explicit and it requires practitioners to have a sufficient understanding of typical child development to recognise when a child’s presentation raises concern.

The SENCO Role in Early Years

Every registered early years setting must appoint a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO). The SENCO has lead responsibility for coordinating the setting’s SEND provision: they advise and support other practitioners in identifying and meeting children’s needs; maintain records and SEN support plans; liaise with parents, the local authority and specialist services; and ensure that the setting’s practice is consistent with the requirements of the SEND Code of Practice 2015.

In small settings, the SENCO role is often held by the setting manager, who may also be the key person for many children. This is permissible, but it creates a risk that SEND coordination becomes an additional task rather than a genuine priority. Effective SENCOs in small settings typically carve out dedicated time for SEND coordination, maintain a log of all children with identified needs and ensure that observations and discussions about individual children are regular and structured rather than ad hoc.

Identifying SEND in the Early Years

Identification begins with high-quality, evidence-based observation of children’s development across the seven areas of learning. Where a child’s development in one or more areas consistently lags behind what would be expected for their age, or where it presents atypically (advanced in some areas, significantly behind in others) this should prompt a more structured assessment and a conversation with parents. The EYFS Progress Check at Age Two is a formal opportunity to identify concerns at a relatively early point, and settings should use it genuinely rather than producing formulaic summaries.

Common early indicators of SEND in the early years include:

• significantly delayed language development or very limited expressive vocabulary at two and a half to three years
• social interaction that seems qualitatively different from peers, including limited eye contact, limited responsiveness to their name and difficulties engaging in joint attention
• very restricted play patterns
• significant sensory sensitivities
• motor delays
• persistent emotional and behavioural difficulties not explained by circumstances

None of these alone is diagnostic, but all warrant careful monitoring and, in many cases, a referral to relevant specialists.

Reasonable Adjustments and Inclusive Practice

The Equality Act 2010 requires all service providers (including childcare settings) to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. In an early years context, this means proactively considering the needs of children with disabilities and making changes to practice, environment and resources to ensure they can participate as fully as possible. The duty is anticipatory – settings must not wait until a disabled child is enrolled before considering whether they can meet that child’s needs.

Reasonable adjustments in early years settings might include:

• modifying the physical environment to accommodate a wheelchair or a sensory impairment
• providing visual timetables for a child who benefits from predictability and visual cues
• offering alternative communication systems such as Makaton or PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System)
• adapting activities to allow full participation regardless of physical or cognitive ability
• providing a quiet space for a child who is easily overwhelmed by sensory stimulation. What constitutes a “reasonable”
• adjustment will depend on the resources and circumstances of the setting, but the courts have consistently held that the threshold is not high

Working with Parents

Nowhere is parent partnership more important than in the identification and support of SEND. Parents typically know their child best – they have observed them in a wider range of contexts, over a longer period, than any practitioner. Their observations of their child’s behaviour at home, their social interaction with family members and their responses to different environments are invaluable information that should inform assessment and planning. Parents who raise concerns should always be taken seriously, even if practitioners have not yet observed the same issues in the setting.

When a concern is first identified (whether by a practitioner or by a parent) the conversation should be conducted with sensitivity, honesty and a genuine focus on what the setting can do to support the child. The language used matters: talking about what additional support might help the child is more productive than leading with diagnostic labels or the formal processes that might follow. The goal of the initial conversation is to establish a shared understanding of the child’s needs and a jointly agreed plan for the next steps.

Early Years SEND Funding

Local authorities have a duty to fund appropriate SEND support in early years settings for children who need it. The main funding mechanisms are the SEN Inclusion Fund (SENIF), which provides additional funding for children with SEND who are accessing their free early education entitlement, and the Disability Access Fund (DAF), which is available as a one-off payment for eligible three and four-year-olds with certain disabilities (currently £910 per year per eligible child). Both funds are accessed through the local authority and are intended to support the additional provision needed to include children with SEND in early years settings.

Settings may also be able to access specialist support from the local authority’s Early Years SEND Support Service (known by different names in different local authorities), which can provide advisory visits, assessments, training and resources. Families can also be referred to portage (a home-visiting educational service for pre-school children with SEND) and to speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and other health services through a referral from the GP or health visitor.