With the early years workforce increasingly made up of a diverse range of professionals the need for a consistent approach to the identification of SEN becomes ever more important. This cannot be over-stated. As the DfE puts it, ‘excellent early years provision plays a key role by identifying needs early and putting the right support in place so that children can progress’, adding that research has found that high-quality early years provision for children ‘significantly decreases the likelihood of a child being identified with SEN in later years.’

The statistics

The DfE's recent SEND statistics reveal the extent of the support needed in early years settings for children with special educational needs and disabilities, stating that ‘three-quarters of group-based providers (75 per cent) and 13 per cent of childminders reported that that they had at least one child with SEND registered with their provision, which includes children with and without formal support in place and those not yet formally diagnosed.’

The DfE SEND review suggests that early identification is crucial to ensure practitioners are able to provide the right support for children.

Snapdragons Nurseries

The view by the DfE on early identification is echoed by Alice Collard, Quality and Training Manager at Snapdragons Nurseries. ‘As early years educators we are often the first to identify potential developmental delay in young children, which is a huge responsibility and highlights the significantly important role our workforce plays within society,’ she says. ‘This, along with being the professionals who might be the first to raise the emerging concerns with parents, can mean the process is challenging and often daunting for practitioners.’

She adds: ‘At Snapdragons Nurseries, we believe in creating a culture of honesty and trust with our families, ensuring from day one they feel supported and part of their child's experience at nursery. One of the biggest recommendations we give to our practitioners is to be inquisitive. It shows the parents that we are eager to learn more about their child. Emphasising our passion shows parents we have their child at the centre of everything we do and gives them the reassurance they need from the beginning of what can be a long and challenging journey.’

Practitioners play a huge role in identifying emerging needs, so it is important to act upon their concern and value their professional judgement, says Alice. ‘We are already aware children develop at different rates but when there is an identified area of need, development varies even more. Some children will make progress following advice from professionals, whereas others have more complex needs that require high levels of support and intervention to ensure their needs are met.’

Alice adds: ‘There are key points during a child's time at nursery when their development is assessed and this should always be discussed with parents. Utilising times such as the progress check at age two, parents' evenings and transitions between age groups allows for opportunities to have open discussion around their child's development. We consider the way we approach early conversations with parents to maintain established relationships, ensuring our less experienced practitioners are receiving training and guidance from our leaders and managers.’

The role of the SENCo

The DfE published new guidance for the progress check at age two in May this year. The guidance helps practitioners to make an accurate assessment of a child's development and to work with parents and other professionals to put in place support and intervention where needed. It also identities the role of the SENCo as crucial in overseeing the four-stage cycle that defines the graduated approach.

‘At Snapdragons Nurseries the nursery SENCo is likely to step in and support the graduated approach of; assess, plan, do, review,’ Alice continues. ‘They ensure practitioners are setting and reviewing appropriate targets for the child. They are responsible for maintaining strong communication with parents, holding meetings, making referrals to relevant agencies and signposting families to get additional support.’

‘We understand that the SENCo plays a crucial role within early years, being the individual who evidences the support children require. The SENCo is often the professional to champion the families whilst building up enough evidence to support an application for inclusion funding or an EHCP. Their responsibility level is incredibly high, highlighting the need for them to receive appropriate training and guidance to fulfil their role to a high standard.

The environment and routines

‘We believe the environment also plays a large part in our approach to SEN provision. The layout should be well thought through to develop inclusive practice. For example, we have certain consistencies throughout our nurseries which we feel passionate about for promoting equal opportunities. We want to ensure there are no barriers to learning for any of our children, so we make individual reasonable adjustments to prevent a child from being disadvantaged and look at how we can adapt our provision to better meet their needs. From the simple use of visual aids in all rooms, to having handrails installed to enable a child to access the toilets independently. We consider the way we utilise Disability Access Fund (DAF) for those entitled to it, along with EYPP with a focus on cultural capital, supporting our families who may need support with purchasing school uniform ahead of their child starting school. We also have certain interventions embedded into our daily routine for children to access. All children participate in ‘Attention Bucket’ sessions, phase one of the Attention Autism programme and Sunshine Circles group sessions based on nurture and wellbeing, developed by The Theraplay Institute.

‘Although we have 10 nurseries over four counties, we work collaboratively which means I'm able to monitor the quality of teaching and inclusive practice across all sites. We are noticing a continuous increase of SEN in our nurseries which I believe is partly due to our experienced practitioners being so aware of a wide range of needs, enabling us to put the correct interventions in place earlier. We pride ourselves on our strong links with the local authorities and have previously been involved in piloting new SEN paperwork for one local authority.’

Level 3 SENCo qualification

A new early years SENCo qualification being delivered by Best Practice Network is aimed at Level 3 practitioners in private, voluntary or independent settings as well as childminders. Best Practice Network is now delivering the qualification with a wide range of partners: Elklan, Kids Planet Day Nurseries, Snapdragons Nurseries, London Early Years Foundation Nursery Chains, Bristol City Council, Derbyshire LA, Durham CC and Telford and Wrekin LA, and the National Day Nurseries Association.

Minister for School Standards, Will Quince, said: ‘It's great to be working with Best Practice Network on the delivery of Level 3 SENCo training for early years staff. ‘This is a crucial programme within our early years education recovery package, addressing the impact of the pandemic on the youngest and most disadvantaged children. It's also a key part of our SEND Green Paper commitment to improve outcomes for all children, regardless of need. ‘The early years sector has worked incredibly hard to support families over the past few years and we want to continue working with them to support all early years children. This upscale in the number of qualified SENCos will directly help children who have special educational needs.’

‘We are pleased to be playing a key role in efforts to ensure that the best possible educational outcomes are achieved for children with special educational needs and disabilities,’ said Sian Marsh.

‘As a key part of the early years education recovery package, and SEND Green Paper, this qualification comes at a critical time. We know that the pandemic significantly reduced opportunities to identify and address SEND amongst children not yet of compulsory school age. The programme will build specialist expertise in SEND by increasing the number of Level 3 qualified SENCos in group-based settings and childminder settings. SENCos will upskill colleagues in their settings and local areas. This will lead to earlier identification of SEND and improvements to the provision ensuring the needs of all children are met.’