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Early years SEND team

Our service is for children who have complex or significant additional needs, identified either by parents and/or health services or early years settings working with the child, within the areas of learning, language and communication, sensory and physical needs and social emotional development.

We also help childcare providers and early years settings to support children with disabilities.

Who do we support?

We support early years settings (like nurseries or schools) where children between the ages of birth to five are not making the educational or developmental progress that's expected, or where children may require specific, specialised support to meet their social and emotional needs.  

For some children with very complex needs, we will support with the transition into school, up to the age of 7.

What can you expect from the service?

We have a number of professionals in our team who work alongside settings and parents to ensure children with SEND in the early years get good quality, inclusive support that helps them make progress.

  • Our Specialist Advisory Teachers (SATs) are qualified teachers with specialist SEND experience and qualifications. They work with individual children and their families and/or schools, assessing need and giving practical advice and guidance and offering training. Some of our SATs work in our specialist pre-school setting for children and their families; the Early Years Specialist Development Centre. 
  • Early Years Inclusion Specialists (EYIS) are highly experienced, specialised learning support practitioners. They work alongside our teachers to demonstrate the strategies suggested in their advice and guidance. EYIS can offer support in the home, nurseries and schools. They also deliver training and offer group sessions for children and their families.   Early Years Specialist SEND Practitioners support teaching and learning in the Early Years Specialist Development Centres and have a similar role to EYIS. 
  • Inclusion Development Officers (IDO) have extensive and varied experience in Early Years education and SEND. They work with staff in private nurseries and school nursery settings, developing inclusive practice by training staff and enhancing processes within the nursery.
  • Early Years Emotional Wellbeing and Behaviour Specialists have specialised knowledge, skills and experience supporting children with social, emotional and behavioural needs in the Early Years. They work with Early Years providers to develop therapeutic behaviour support in their settings. They work with a small number of individual children who may be at risk of placement breakdown due to their emotional and behavioural needs.

Specialist Development Centres – teachers and early years practitioners

There are 5 Specialist Development Centres across the county which support children from birth to approximately 3 years of age who have complex SEND. Each child is offered between 1 and 2 sessions per week depending on availability.

Learn about the Specialist Development Centres

How to refer

We accept referrals from parents, health professionals and education professionals.

We might ask nurseries or preschools and health professionals for more information so that we can decide what level and type of support that we can offer your family and your child.

Complete a service request form (PDF 345kb)

Baseline Assessment Form for School Staff only

For children accessing a pre-school educational setting, at the point of referral the service would normally expect to see that different provision has been made for the child by staff, implementing the SEND Code of Practice requirements of assess, plan, do and review. If this intervention has not had a positive impact on a child’s development it may then be time for a service request to be considered or made. Advice can be sought as to appropriate next steps for the child from the local 0 – 5 Lead Practitioners or team members.

Your child does not need a medical diagnosis or an EHCP to be referred to the team - the Early Years SEND team will provide support based on your child’s level of need.

What needs to be included in the referral?

We ask for your child's early years provider to give evidence of strategies they have tried to support your child before they contact us. This is usually an assessment and an individual education plan (IEP). We do not ask parents for any extra information.

For children requiring support from the Early Years Emotional Wellbeing and Behaviour Specialists,  the referrer should request support from ‘Early Years SEND’ and should note the ‘reason for request’ as ‘Tier 3 Emotional Wellbeing and Behaviour Support’ Tier 4.

We sometimes ask for copies of relevant medical reports (speech and language therapy, paediatrician, physiotherapy, occupational therapy etc.)  Parents need to give their consent to the referral in order for the team to be involved.

What happens after the referral?

We review referrals at our Early Years Action Group (EYAG) meetings, where the Lead Practitioner will consider the referral and additional information.

If the referral is accepted, you will be allocated a member of the Early Years SEND team to support you and your child. The team member, usually a Specialist Advisory Teacher, will make contact with you or your child's early years setting and arrange a visit.

Can any organisations support you?

Delivering Special Provision Locally (DSPL)

DSPLs are teams across Hertfordshire that organise support in their specific local areas. Your local DSPL may run events or have guidance to support you.

Support groups and networks

Many parents find it beneficial to meet and talk to other parents who have children with additional needs. Here you can find information about some of those in Hertfordshire.

Page was last updated on: 29/08/2024 17:41:35

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