Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Hind Leys Pre-School is committed to making our setting inclusive and accessible to all children and aims to empower children to reach their full potential. All children have the right to the Early Years Foundation Stage and all staff members have a duty to meet the needs of all children attending the setting.

 “Children need systems that are inclusive and driven by them, systems that will enable them to respond to their feelings and needs at any time” – Jeroo Billimoria

We have regard for the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice (DfES 2001) on the early identification and assessment of Children with additional needs and follow the Early Years Action and Early Years Action Plus model as outlined in the SEN handbook. We work supported by the Disability Act (2001), the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) and the Disability and Equality Act (2010) which state all children have the right to access a stimulating, inclusive environment and that reasonable adjustments must be made so that the setting and activities are made accessible.

‘A child has an additional need if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special or additional provision to be made for them’

A child has a learning difficulty if they:

  • Have a significantly greater difficulty in development and learning than other children of the same age.
  • Have a disability which prevents or hinders the child from making use of educational facilities, environments and experiences.
  • Fall within either of the two definitions above or would do if additional provision was not made for that child. (Education Act 1996)

The child’s learning difficulties may be due to:

  • A generalised development delay
  • Physical impairment
  • Speech/Language difficulty
  • Social/Communication difficulties
  • A recognised syndrome
  • Delayed social and emotional development
  • Health problems that affect the child’s access to learning
  • A sensory difficulty

We aim to provide an environment where all children are welcomed, valued and included and offer a full Early Years curriculum tailored to the individual needs of the child.

We work in partnership with our children, parents, external professionals/agencies, other settings and schools. We involve our children in their own learning and they are encouraged to celebrate their own success and that of others through the varied curriculum on offer. Partnership with parents is vital for us to ensure that the child’s individual needs are met and we value all involvement from parents. The setting has an open door policy offering times for discussions as necessary and information is shared with parents through the use of home/setting books, experiences logged in learning journeys, parents evenings and daily communication upon dropping off and collection.

We are committed to providing a multi agency working approach to meet children’s additional needs ensuring consistency and the setting will use any advice from other agencies/professionals to provide suitable targets or strategies for children.

Children with additional needs are admitted to Pre-School by the same procedure as all other children (see admissions policy for details). Our application form requests information about special needs to ensure that we are in a position to meet those needs upon admission. Our SENCo will liaise with parents/carers as necessary to facilitate the child’s integration into Pre-School life.  

On admissions, all children are allocated a Key Person, who monitors their progress carefully and providing age appropriate experiences ensures through small targets all children make progress in their learning and development and can access the whole curriculum offered here at Pre-School. 

We aim to identify any additional needs and difficulties at an early stage and address them by a graduated response following the model of whole setting arrangements, Early Years Action and Early Years Action Plus.

When a Key Person becomes concerned about a child’s progress after observations, on-going paperwork based assessments and tracking development alongside the EYFS, discussions will take place with the Pre-School leader, SENCo and parents/carers. Following these discussions, a decision may be taken to place the child’s name on the Special Needs register at Early Years Action stage and an Individual Education Plan will be drawn up, identifying a few key targets and detailing the additional strategies to be used to help the child progress.

Individual Education Plans will be continually monitored and reviewed on a termly basis and parents/carers will be involved in this process.

If the child’s progress continues to give cause for concern, the SENCo may wish to consult external professionals or agencies for further advice and guidance. This will only be done after consent from parents/carers. Following further discussions with parents/carers, the child will be moved to Early Years Action Plus and the SENCo will then liaise closely with relevant specialists following their advice and suggestions to greater meet the child’s specific needs.

The setting’s named SENCo is Ruth Sharpe. The SENCo is responsible for monitoring the needs and progress of children with additional needs, ensuring that Individual Education Plans are in place and advises and supports all other practitioners within the setting. The SENCo will ensure that liaison takes place with parents/carers and with all appropriate professionals.

All staff members have undergone childcare training, and this is supplemented by regular Foundation Stage courses and in-house training. The SENCo has, in addition, attended specific Special Educational Needs training. A training log is maintained for all members of staff and may be viewed on request. Within the setting we have practical experience of successfully addressing a variety of learning difficulties.

If a parent/carer wishes to make a complaint about Special Educational needs provision at Hind Leys Pre-School they should follow the complaints procedure laid down in the prospectus. If the issue is not resolved to their satisfaction, they have resource to the Parent Partnership Service, which offers independent mediation between parents and the Local Authority or Early Education setting. In certain circumstances parents/carers may also have a statutory right of appeal to the Special Educational Needs Tribunal.

This policy is monitored and evaluated by Hind Leys Pre-School committee. If a parent/carer requires more information about this policy they should speak to Ruth Sharpe (Pre-School Manager/SENCo).