Skip to content

Feedback
 
Give feedback Menu  Close 
Give feedback

Early years (ages 0 - 5)

Some children will have a special educational need or disability identified from birth. Other children will start to show signs of an additional need as they develop during their early years. Whether you're feeling worried, or just keen to find out more about the type of help you can get, the Local Offer site is here to help you find the right support for your family.

Family Centre Service (Family Centres and Health Visitors)

Health Visitors support you during and after pregnancy, until your child is 5 years old. They provide information and advice, as well as acting as your advocate.  This can include supporting you through the process of diagnosis, discussing developmental concerns, sleep, diet and toilet training. They can also help you get support from other services and organisations you might need. Learn more about Health visitors in Hertfordshire.

There are a number of ways you can contact the Health Visiting Service:

  • You can call 0300 123 7572 every day, 9am – 5pm, to speak to a Health Visitor for any advice or information you need.
  • You can refer into our Family Centre Service online
  • Text Chat Health - a texting service for parents of children aged 0 – 5 - 07480 635 164, Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm.

The Family Support Service supports families, parents, and carers from before your baby is born right up until they reach the age of 11. They offer parenting support courses, breastfeeding support, first aid courses, and lots more.  You can find your nearest Family Centre here.

The Family Support SEND Champions support families who have children with SEND by providing information, advice, guidance and a listening ear. They link in with specialist services and partners to signpost families to the right support. There are also groups you can attend to meet other families and receive tailored support for you and your child. Find your nearest Family Centre or get in touch with them on the Family Centres website.

New to SEND?

If you're new to the world of SEND and are keen to find out more about the types of support you can get for your child, as well as helpful tips from other parents of children with SEND, you can visit our 'New to SEND' page

New to SEND

Early Years Advice Line -- tel 01442 453920 weds 9-12.30pm, Thurs 1.30-4pm (term time) 700x500.png

Transitions

Starting school or nursery is a big milestone for any child. It can be an exciting time but you may also have concerns about how your child will cope. This page has advice and tips from professionals and other parents to help you through it.

Starting school or nursery

Developed in partnership with Health, Family Support and Herts Parent Carer Involvement, Hertfordshire's early years flowchart can tell you which professionals you may come into contact with if you are the parent of a child under 5 with an identified need or a new diagnosis. It can give you an overview of contact points, and links to more information. Download the Early Years SEND Offer flowchart here (this document is not accessible to screenreaders. If you would like an accessible version, please email localoffer@hertfordshire.gov.uk).

What kind of support can I get for my child under 5?

The experiences of families of young children with SEND will vary, and the type of support parents might need will depend on the child's needs and the individual circumstances of the families.  Some families will find the help and support they need by connecting with other parents of children with SEND, some will want to know about education options for their child, others might need help financially as their work is impacted.  You can find out more about different types of support you can access here: 

Support groups and networks

Connecting with other parents who have children with additional needs can be a lifeline for some parents and a valuable source of information

Activities and courses

Find inclusive events, playgroups and activities for you and your child, as well as parenting courses and workshops

Speak to your SENCo

If your child is at pre-school or nursery, the SENCo should be able to help identify your child's needs and arrange support to help their learning

Early Years SEND team

The specialist Early Years team help those children aged 0 - 5 with the most complex needs.

Money

Find out what financial support you may be able to apply for as well as funding that can be applied for by Early Years providers

Childcare and pre-schools

Find out more about the different childcare options you can consider for your child on the Herts directory

Free Early Education

If your child is 2 and has an EHCP you may be entitled to free childcare. You can find out more here.

 

Page was last updated on: 14/11/2024 10:55:56

Cookies

Like many other websites, we place small information files called 'cookies' on your computer.

Why do we use cookies?

To remember your settings, for example your language and location. This means you don’t have to keep entering these details when you visit a new page.

To find out how you use the site to help us update and improve it.

How do I change my cookie settings?

You can change the settings of your web browser so that it won’t accept cookies. For more information visit AboutCookies.org.

But, doing this may stop you from using some of the online features and services on this website. 

Cookies we use

Cookies do a lot of different jobs, and we use 2 types of cookies:

Required functionality cookies – these cookies are essential for the website to work.

Performance and feature cookies – these cookies help to improve the performance and feel of this website, for example providing you with personalised services.


Take a look at a list of cookies we use on our website:

NameTypeHow we use itHow long we use the information for

ASP.Net_Sessions

 

Required functionality

An automatic cookie set by our software. 

Just for the time you are on our website.

ServerID

 

Required functionality

An automatic cookie set by our software. 

Just for the time you are on our website.

_ga

Required functionality

To track the effectiveness of our website using Google Analytics. 

2 years

saved-pages

Performance and feature

To save the pages that you visit by clicking the heart at the top of the page. 

1 month

geoPostcode

Performance and feature

This stores your postcode (or partial postcode) when we ask you for your location.

Just for the time you are on our website or 30 days (you choose this).

geoCoordinates

Performance and feature

This stores your location as a pair of latitude / longitude coordinates.

Just for the time you are on our website or 30 days (you choose this).

reckonerName-history

Performance and feature

This keeps a history of all answers submitted to the ready reckoner.

This is set in the control for each ready reckoner. If you haven't interacted with the ready reckoner for the set amount of days, the cookies are deleted.

reckonerName-content

Performance and feature

This keeps a history of what content cards are clicked on when using the ready reckoner.

This is set in the control for each ready reckoner. If you haven't interacted with the ready reckoner for the set amount of days, the cookies are deleted.

SQ_SYSTEM_SESSION

Required functionality

This used to track user sessions on forms hosted on eservices.hertfordshire.gov.uk

Just for the time you are on our website.

Third party cookies

There are links and content from other sites and services on our website. These sites and services set their own cookies.

Below are a list of cookies that the other sites and services use:

Service namePurposeMore information

Google analytics (_utma/b/c/z)

These are used to compile reports for us on how people use this site.

Cookies of the same names are also used for the same purpose by other websites such as Building Futures, Countryside Management Service and Hertfordshire LIS.

Visit the Google Analytics website for more information about the cookies they use.

You can prevent data from being collected and used by Google Analytics by installing Google's Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Google Translation - googtrans

This cookie is used to remember which language to translate each page into if you have chosen to do so.

It expires at the end of your browser session.

Bing

We use a Bing cookie to track the success of our marketing campaigns and make them more efficient.

Visit Bing to find out more about their cookies.

Google

We use a Google cookie to track the success of our marketing campaigns and make them more efficient.

Visit Google to find out more about their cookies.

Facebook

We have a number of presences on Facebook, which we may link to. Facebook may set some of its own cookies if you follow these links.

Visit Facebook to find out more about their cookies.

Twitter

We have a number of presences and feeds on Twitter, which you may wish to follow or read from this website. Twitter may set some of its own cookies.

Visit Twitter to find out more about their cookies.

YouTube

We have a YouTube channel, which we may link to. YouTube may set some of its own cookies if you follow those links.

Visit YouTube to find out more about their cookies.

Netloan

This ASP.NET_Sessionid cookie is essential for the Netloan secure online payments website to work, and is set when you arrive to the site. This cookie is deleted when you close your browser.

 

HotJar

This session cookie is set to let Hotjar know whether that visitor is included in the sample which is used to generate funnels.

Visit HotJar to find out more about their cookies.

Siteimprove

These cookies are set to help us report on how people are using the site so we can improve it.

Visit Siteimprove to learn more about their cookies.