Early years: Best practice walkthrough

Nursery and early years communities that are THRIVING for all staff and children tend to be more effective at meeting Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND). In the context of a setting with excellent practice and a broad, balanced and stimulating offer, the graduated approach to SEND will work best.

In settings where SEND is a key focus for the senior management when analysing progress and exclusions data, they use this analysis to effectively inform developments in the setting in relation to SEND. The most experienced SENDCos are involved in developing the setting’s SEND and Inclusion Policies and have a good overview of the skill sets of staff in relation to SEND.

They will ensure there is access to training for all staff on SEND and vulnerable groups on a needs led basis, linking in with the Early Years Inclusion Advisors to support this. This will lead to key workers having ownership of the progress of all children in their care.

All children will thrive in settings that are nurturing and inclusive; that have good systems for supporting individuals and monitoring issues pertinent to groups, for example, opportunities for feedback from children, staff and parents/carers. Inclusive and differentiated behaviour policies embed reasonable adjustments into the setting’s response to behaviour.

There are programmes and accreditations that can support settings to embed inclusive practice at whole setting level including Emotionally Friendly Settings.

The spirit of the changes to SEND legislation in 2014 encourages professionals to identify how they are part of a wider system whereby collaboration with partners is a key duty. It’s important that SENDCos and setting leaders are actively engaged in the local vision and priorities for SEND children and families.

They will have a good understanding of their setting’s data and how that compares to local and national trends. Settings that work in collaboration with the LA on identifying and addressing strategic issues will drive standards across the network of SEND professionals and ultimately have positive outcomes for the SEND population. You can find the current strategic priorities on the Local Offer.

Salford appreciates the time commitment SENDCos give to decision making panels. The feedback we get from participants is that it is mutually beneficial. Get involved!

SENDCos and practitioners should have a good grasp of the legal duties and entitlements of SEND children. We are working together to enable SENDCos to collate and analyse their SEND data and share their findings with multi-agency services in order to maximise the impact of resources. SENDCos need to be able to be creative when planning group support to ensure children access timely and appropriate intervention to address their areas of need and staff understand and are confident to support the needs of the children in their setting.

The more experienced SENDCos are also ensuring that SEND families are well informed about provision and approaches used in setting through robust communication systems that provide regular sharing of information between home and setting. They are also gathering the views of SEND families about what they would find helpful more broadly and feeding families’ views into the wider planning of support across the provision. For example, using questionnaires and multi-agency coffee mornings alongside sharing information about other SEND support services. They are able to support parents to understand the whole of the SEND pathway and where their child’s need are currently being met on the continuum.

SEND children’s voices are also creatively and authentically gathered and used to inform development work and practice across the provider. Parents of SEND children are used as experts to inform the package and approaches to support their child.

In Salford we advocate for a broad definition of Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND). If a child needs adjustments to be made in order to be included or make progress, then consideration should be given to them having a Special Educational Need. We also recognise the benefits of identifying SEND early, as being responsive to individual needs early can have positive impacts on children and young people’s outcomes in the longer term.

The Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice (Department for Education [DfE] & Department of Health [DoH], 2015) sets out guidance and expectations in relation to identifying, assessing, and providing for children with special educational needs. It tells us in relation to identification: A child or young person has a special educational need if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision, namely provision that is different from or additional to that normally available. A child has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:

• ‘has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age’; or
• ‘has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions’. (SEND Code of Practice, 2015, pg. 15)

The most effective SENDCos have systems and processes in place to support the early identification of children’s SEND, which include robust tracking and screening measures, staff confident to work with parents to raise and explore initial concerns and good links with multi-agency teams.

Early Years settings can often be the first professionals to identify SEN, so it is essential this is done sensitively, leading to a clear plan of support for the child and their family.

Early Years Guide to the 0-25 Code of Practice states:

All early year’s providers are required to have arrangements in place to identify and support children with SEN or disabilities and to promote equality of opportunity for children in their care. These requirements are set out in the EYFS framework. The EYFS framework also requires practitioners to review children’s progress and share a summary with parents.

In addition, the ‘Early Years Outcomes’ is an aid for practitioners, including child minders, nurseries, and others such as inspectors, to help them to understand the outcomes they should be working towards.

Case Study - Categorisation (Adobe PDF format, 55kb)

The graduated approach encourages practitioners to revisit, refine and revise decisions and actions that have been made, in order to grow their understanding of the child’s needs and support requirements.

The SEND Code of Practice (DfE, 2015, pg. 100) encourages us to provide the right support at the right time. It is graduated in that for some children they will require small adjustments within the setting to be successful, whereas for others they will require a highly personalised plan of support and intervention in order to make progress and be included. The code highlights:

• Where a child is identified as having SEND, the setting should take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place.
• Once a child is identified as having SEND their family must be informed. The setting must work with parents/carers, listening to their views and involving them in any decision making and planning.
• The provision in place must be reviewed termly and involve the child and their family.

There are teams available across Salford who can support settings to meet the needs of early years children with a wide range of SEND. These include the Area Inclusion Advisors and Springwood Outreach.

It may be decided that specialist advice from professionals is required to meet the needs of children, for example Speech and Language Therapy (SALT); Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Educational Psychology Service (EPS), Occupational Therapy (OT) and/or Physiotherapy, Neurodevelopmental pathway and Paediatrician. Further information about these teams and how to access them is available on the Local Offer page for Salford.

Any recommendations provided by professionals should be clearly incorporated and referenced in planning for the child. This SEND support should take the form of Assess-Plan-Do-Review Cycles, through which earlier decisions and actions are revisited, refined, and revised with a growing understanding of the child’s needs, alongside what supports the child requires to make good progress and secure good outcomes (SEND Code of Practice, 2015, pg. 100, 6.44).

The Assess-Plan-Do Review Cycle is the foundation of the graduated approach and key to meeting the needs of all children identified as having any form of SEND.

The best practitioners reflect on their interaction style and approach to working with children and revise this based on what works well for them and the individual child they are working with.

This is a crucial aspect of working with our SEND population as they are all individuals; what works for one child may not work for another even with a similar SEND profile or diagnosis. Practitioners with good self-awareness and a willingness to adjust to the children they are supporting experience the greatest success.

‘Reflective Practice is learning through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and practice.’ (Finlay, 2008) Reflective Practice is to critically evaluate experience from both the past and present and to use that information to inform and plan teaching and learning.

Reflective practice is:

• about learning from others
• a shared activity
• about improving your objectivity
• a key factor in improving learner experience

Reflective practice supports identification of and provision for SEND children and fits well with the Assess, Plan, Do, Review Cycle.

‘Where a pupil is identified as having SEND, early years’ settings, schools and colleges should take action to remove barriers to learning and put effective special educational provision in place’ (DfE, SEND Code of Practice, 2015, p.100).

The SEND Code of Practice promotes the use of the ‘Assess-Plan-Do-Review’ Cycle to support this process. This works by revisiting, refining and revising our understanding of a child’s needs and what works to support them. This means our understanding of the child’s needs should become clearer over time and build a better picture of the provision they need to make progress.

Building a picture over time is especially helpful in the early years when considering longer term planning and the provision needed to make a successful transition to school. A good SENDCo will support a family through cycles of Assess-Plan-Do-Review and will try to understand any differences in opinion or experiences a child has across different environments and make sense of them to inform the child’s needs and support plan. Our experienced SENDCos have created one-page versions of the Assess-Plan-Do-Review Cycle to support parental understanding.

Parent explanation (Adobe PDF format, 107kb)

Review

Following the plan phase, key professionals, SENDCo, parent/carer should meet to review the plan. The review should include:

• Evidence of the impact of the plan, both in terms of the desired outcomes and success criteria.
• Everyone’s views on progress and impact, including the pupil themselves.
• A plan for next steps. Does there need to be another cycle of ‘assess-plan-do-review’ or can the CYP’s needs now be met through the Ordinarily Available Provision? Does a referral need to be made to another service?
• A written record.

If it is agreed that the CYP would benefit from further support, then a second round of ‘assess-plan-do-review’ should begin.

Assess

Clear and comprehensive assessment of the pupils needs by key educational professionals, Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENDCo), parents/carer and CYP, based on a combination of:

• Discussions to gather the views and aspirations of the CYP and their family.
• Universal and targeted in-house assessments and observations carried out by a range of staff.
• CYP’s current attainment and progress.
• CYP’s previous attainment and progress.
• Tracking of data and comparisons with national data.
• Any relevant assessment information provided by external agencies e.g. Health, Educational Psychology (EP), and Social Care.

Plan

Following the assessment phase, key educational professionals, SENDCo, parent/carer and pupil, meet and agree a plan of action. This plan should be outcome focussed (e.g., improve, develop and achieve) and should include:

• SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-based) targets.
• Details of the adjustments, equipment, support and interventions that need to be put in place to fulfil the plan.
• Details of who will be running the programme and when.
• Details of success criteria, including how progress will be measured, when and by whom.
• A date of review, typically 6-8 weeks.

This plan should be recorded and circulated to all relevant parties before it begins. Any training needs should be identified and addressed prior to the start of the ‘do’ phase.

Do

In this phase the plan is put into action.

The SEND Code of Practise makes it clear that it is the responsibility of the setting adults to implement the plan on a day-to-day basis. This should be supported by the SENDCo. The ‘do’ phase should involve the Early Years Educator:

• Delivering the ‘Ordinarily Available Provision’ to all CYP.
• Implementing any adjustments, specific strategies, interventions, or approaches to teaching that have been identified as adult led within the plan phase.
• Managing any Early Years Assistants who are supporting CYP within the setting.
• Continually assessing and monitoring the CYP’s progress and making any necessary adjustments.
• Communicating with Early Years Assistants and any other adults who are providing interventions to CYP and making plans for them to generalise their skills during learning.
• Communicating how things are going with the CYP, their family and the SENDCo.

Robust information should be gathered during this phase so that the following can be discussed at review:

• How the intervention/adjustment has been implemented e.g. whether there have been any absences or delays.

Learn

At the end of each cycle there should be an explicit pause built into the process with which, professionals, the family and the CYP reflect on what has been learnt (e.g., regarding their learning preferences, motivation, approach, strategies that support and those which do not). This learning should be explicitly incorporated into any subsequent cycles of ‘assess-plan-do-review’ and into all ‘Ordinarily Available Provision’ that the CYP receives.

In this way there should be a clear thread linking subsequent plans and approaches.

SEND children have the same rights as non-disabled children to participate in decisions and issues that affect them. The importance of the participation of SEND children is reflected in both the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and in duties placed on the local authorities to support and involve children in decision-making. Sadly, research suggests that despite this, SEND children in practice remain inactive in decisions about their education and future.

Why gather the views of children with SEND?

Research suggests that listening to the views of children with SEND is beneficial for several reasons. There are clear advantages including increased motivation, independence, perception of personal control and progress. Todd (2003) notes that if children and young people are part of decision-making processes, they can provide appropriate information about their skills and abilities and offer their views about possible interventions, enhancing the likelihood of successful outcomes.

The SEND Code of Practice makes it very clear that throughout the process of assessment the children’s views should be sought; every cycle is an opportunity to enable the children to be involved in decision making. It is important to have regard to the views, wishes and feelings of the child and for these views to be clearly incorporated into Assess-Plan-Do review cycles.

‘Planning should start with the individual and local authorities must have regard to the views, wishes and feelings of the child, child’s parent or young person, their aspirations, the outcomes they wish to seek and the support they need to achieve them.’ (SEND Code of Practice, 2015, pg. 147)

Throughout the assessment/planning process staff should:

• Focus on the child as an individual
• Enable the child to express their views, wishes and feelings
• Enable the child to be part of the process
• Ensure what is being discussed is easy for child to understand
• Highlight the child’s strengths and capabilities
• Elicit what they have done, what they are interested in and what outcomes they are seeking in the future

Using a person-centred approach, involving children and their families, is key.

1.Things to consider

• The developmental stage of the child.
• How they like to communicate and their level of understanding, eg, are they able to share their views verbally or would they be best supported with a visual activity, such as picture sorting, or multiple-choice questions?
• Whom they like to communicate with – is there a member of staff with whom they feel most comfortable being honest? Are parents/carers better placed to gather views at home?

2.What views to gather?

• Likes and dislikes (What activities do they like / like less? What do they like to play with?)
• What support they value (What helps them in setting? What helps them less?)
• Who supports them in setting (Who can they go to in the setting that can help them? Who helps them feel safe or manage their feelings? Who helps with their learning?)
• Long-term goals and aspirations (What would they like to be better at? What job would they like when they are older?)

3.How can we do it?

A variety of methods can be used to gather children’s views. Some children will be happy to talk and complete worksheets whereas others will need the practitioner to be more creative (eg children with speech and language delay/disorder or children with profound and multiple learning difficulties). All children should be encouraged to give a view in order to gain a realistic view of how they perceive their early years setting experiences. This will then help highlight actions that will support adaptations to their day-to-day experiences and other more targeted interventions.

For children who may not communicate verbally or prefer using visual supports try non-verbal methods, for example:

• Observe them over time and in different environments. What do they consistently seek out to play with, where and with who? What activities do they dislike or actively avoid?
• Ask them to take photos of all their favourite parts of the setting.
• Use card activities to pick favourite / least favourite activities.
• Line up photos or pictures in order from favourite to least favourite.
• Use projective techniques in which they might select a picture that shows how they feel eg, the Blob School Resources.

For children who can communicate verbally, use verbal or written methods (adults could write the answers). For example (templates included in the appendix):

• Three wishes – if you could have three wishes, what would they be?
• Perfect week – describe your perfect week/day.
• Good Day Bad Day – describe what happens on a good day (from the moment you get up).
• Relationship circle (who is important in your life?).
• Decision making profile.

Older children can contribute planning in well-structured meetings. Here are two ways of sharing views and representing planning of actions jointly with children in a visual and inclusive way:

• MAP – a visual way of planning for children with SEND.
• Planning Alternative Tomorrows with Hope (PATH) – a visual tool for longer term planning as a group.

The importance of enabling children to have a voice in decisions regarding their life and learning is central to SEND policy. Children’s participation should be encouraged in all decision-making processes including setting individual targets; support plans; and contributing to assessments and reviews. Settings need to promote a culture of ensuring children’s voice across a range of issues and children need to be taught and supported to contribute appropriately and effectively. It’s up to the adults to ensure children see the impact of their contribution, as many children become frustrated when their voice appears to be ignored.

4.Pupil views within annual reviews

It can be helpful to ensure that the child’s views are gathered well in advance of the meeting, perhaps over several weeks. The child is likely to need support, using some of the non-verbal methods and worksheets described above, to share their views. If appropriate for their level of development, with preparation the child may want to attend the meeting. Alternatively, the child may wish to prepare a video or some photos to share their views, which a trusted adult can share on their behalf.

It can be helpful following the Annual Review for the child to talk through the meeting with a supportive adult; to hear all the positive comments and progress that was celebrated during the meeting, alongside any new actions or changes to their support plan that have been agreed.

Schools and settings have a duty to meet the needs of all their learners and to follow a graduated response to identification and meeting SEND. For a small number of low incidence-high need children’s settings may need further guidance and resource from the local authority in order to meet their specific individual needs.

In these cases, the setting has a duty of care to apply for an Education, Health, Care (EHC) assessment and the local authority has a duty to respond within legal timeframes. The Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is a legal document which sets out a description of a child’s special educational, health and care needs and what provision (what will be done) to meet their needs in to enable the child to make progress.

It is crucial that the family and child are fully informed of the Education, Health, Care assessment process and supported through it. Parents routinely report that they feel set up for a battle and that they have multiple professionals and panels contradicting each other, which causes understandable frustration. It is the duty of all SEND professionals to have a robust and working knowledge of processes locally and nationally so that parents can be supported through the process amicably.

There are several resources available to explain the EHCP process to parents (please see below and the appendix).

Generally, only a very small number of children with complex and severe needs, who require very high levels of individualised support, are issued with an EHCP. Most children will access help in their educational placement through the level known as school SEN Support or as we describe it within the Main Thrive tool ‘Getting Help’ and ‘Getting More Help’. The Local Offer in Salford can also enable families and practitioners to find out what is available locally and further afield and should help everyone to make the most of many services and opportunities that are available, without the need to have an EHCP.

Where provision cannot reasonably be provided through services and resources that are normally available, it may be necessary to request an EHC assessment. Schools and settings typically request EHC assessments, but parents and professionals can do too. The child has to have a special educational need that is severe and/or complex and which has persisted in spite of the settings following the graduated response, including taking all expected steps and using the highest level of its resources to identify, assess and meet the need. The Local Authority (LA) SEND panel also considers whether or not the difficulties are having an effect on the child’s emotional wellbeing.

The referral

This is the first part of the process in making a request for an EHC assessment and is a key document that the local authority will consider when making decisions. It is important for the referral to identify outcomes for the child and any reports should highlight these outcomes. The decision to draw up an EHCP will depend on the severity of a child’s needs and if any resources are identified that need adding to those already available.

The referral should be accompanied by evidence of provision made for an individual child. This must take the form of a costed provision map completed on the referral template (please only provide the individual child’s provision map rather than the whole setting provision map). If a child has support in small groups, please ensure that you divide the cost between the number of children accessing the group.

The My Story documents completed by parents/carers and children should be included. It should be evident that the setting have been working on the aspirations highlighted by the child and their family. Settings should make every effort to identify strengths in all areas as well as difficulties. It is also helpful to detail what has worked in the last two/three cycles of Assess-Plan-DoReview and what additionality is needed to maintain or enhance the child’s rate of progress.

The timescales

Overview

The Annual Review is the statutory process by which a child’s progress against the outcomes set out in the EHC Plan are reviewed in order to ensure that the provision and targets are up to date and relevant.

The review also helps to consider whether the EHC Plan is still necessary to support the child’s needs in the future, and to plan the outcomes for the coming year, setting new outcomes if necessary.

Statutory requirements

• An Annual Review must be undertaken in partnership with the CYP and their parent, or the young person (if over 16), and must take account of their views, wishes and feelings, including their right to request a Personal
• A Personal Budget is the amount of money identified by the LA to deliver aspects of provision set out in an EHC Plan where the parent or young person (over 16 years of age) is involved in securing that The funds may be held and managed either by the LA, school or college; the family; a third-party arrangement; or a combination of the aforementioned.
• The Annual Review process must be completed on or before the anniversary of when the EHC Plan was first issued or the anniversary of the last review.
• In the Early Years an EHC Plan should be reviewed every 6 months up to the child’s 5th birthday (SEND Code of Practice, 198, 9.178)

The annual review meeting

Before the meeting

• The host (usually the SENDCo in the educational setting) will contact relevant professionals to gather up-to-date reports and must contact the parent and CYP to invite them to contribute their views, wishes and
• The host must send an invitation to attendees at least 2 weeks prior to the meeting date and circulate copies of the gathered reports and
• The host should arrange a suitable meeting place, where confidential conversations can be held without disruption.

During the meeting

• The aim of the process is to review the CYP’s progress towards achieving outcomes and must cover the following:
  • Are the outcomes and objectives still appropriate? Agree new outcomes or short- term objectives if
  • Is the educational provision (including any health and social care provision) and the arrangements for delivering still appropriate?
• Is a Personal Budget required?

Following the meeting

• The host must prepare a report including any recommendations for amendments to the EHC Plan, documenting differences of opinion if necessary, rather than a general This must be circulated to those invited and the LA within 2 weeks of the meeting.
• The LA will consider the review documentation and decide whether the EHC Plan should either remain unchanged; be amended or be The LA must inform the parent or young person of this decision within 4 weeks from the review date and should be no later than the anniversary of either when the EHC Plan was first issued or the previous Annual Review.

Special review meetings

In some cases, it may be appropriate to call an Annual Review ahead of the usual timeframe. This would typically be when there has been a significant change in circumstances, where a significant change is anticipated, or where it is felt that the support outlined in the EHC Plan may no longer be needed.

Best practice tips/ things to consider:

• Ensure adequate time for planning, organising and completing relevant paperwork following the Annual Review. Invite all relevant professionals who have had recent involvement (last 12 months); it may be helpful to think ahead about these arrangements at the start of the year (eg during planning meetings with outside agencies).
• Ensure the communication needs and accessibility of information (eg written text) has been considered for all attending the meeting. Ensure an interpreter is provided if required (using a professional service rather than a family member or family friend) and consider the use of visuals or other alternative communication methods where appropriate.
• Ensure all attendees can contribute to relevant parts of the review. At the start of the meeting, it can be helpful to clarify that it is a group process, and all attendees are bringing their own skills and expertise to draw upon in the meeting. Using a visual method (eg, MAP or PATH) as described in ‘Gathering and responding to children’s views’ above can help make the process collaborative.
• It can be helpful to spend time with child and their family ahead of the Annual Review to explain the process and ensure that all reports and information have been shared in a way that is accessible. If there have been any difficulties or issues, it is important that parents/carers are made aware of these concerns outside of and in advance of the Annual Review, and for this information to not be shared for the first time within the context of a multi-agency meeting.
• Ensure attendees are familiar with the outcomes and objectives and how the educational setting has worked with the child and their family to make progress towards outcomes.
• Have relevant paperwork and reports from the last 12 months available; this can help to clarify a timeline of events if necessary (eg, appointments attended) and plans for future involvement (eg if a re-referral is required after a missed appointment).
• Celebrate positives and successes (eg, sharing examples of the child’s work or achievements).
• The Annual Review is the opportunity to revisit, refine and revise the outcomes and provision within the EHCP to ensure it is effective in supporting the child to meet their potential. This should include a detailed discussion about how the provision detailed in the plan has been implemented and the impact it has had in meeting the outcomes and objectives. If something is not working or no progress has been made, it is important to explore the reasons why (eg, are there barriers to provision being successfully implemented? Is a different approach or type of support needed?) Having these discussions during a multi-agency meeting leads to a collaborative approach to planning provision that draws on the expertise within the room to improve the support plan for the coming year.

The role of the SENDCo has continued to expand with each revision to the Code of Practice. The role is diverse and interesting, but the pace of change has accentuated SENDCo turnover. SENDCos’ roles can be emotionally laborious as they are in a position where they are supporting the wellbeing of others: children, families, and team members. It is, therefore, essential that they get the support they need to fulfil their vital role for SEND children.

Research (Lewis, 2017) suggests that SENDCos’ resilience is protected by access to social support from other SENDCos; having a position in school that enables systemic change (within the leadership/management team or clear links to); access to training and learning opportunities; and by individual coping strategies with workload and emotionally charged situations. Research has shown that peer networks can offer valuable support and development opportunities for SENDCos and school staff (Hayes and Stringer, 2016).

Cluster meetings between settings are often a helpful way to share ideas, training costs and generate solutions to commonly occurring challenges. Similarly, finding time to meet as a staff team can be powerful. Staff who engaged in group problem solving sessions reported they were ‘productive’, ‘structured’ and ‘supportive’. All respondents (10 staff) reported an impact on their understanding of SEN, and 90-80% of respondents reported the groups helped them learn new strategies, try new things and feel more confident about SEN. 70% reported the groups helped them feel less stressed (Lyons, 2019). The Educational Psychology Service can facilitate group problem solving sessions and offer supervision to other professionals such as setting staff, which can provide a safe space to reflect on your role, concerns and coping; ask your Educational Psychology service for more details.

We hope this overview has given you a good understanding of the best SEND practices within Early Years. The remainder of this document will support you to meet need within your setting across the Getting Advice, Getting Help, Getting More Help (Main Thrive Tool) and Getting Risk Support sections of the Thrive Framework.

Finlay, L. (2008). Reflecting on ‘Reflective practice’. Practice-based Professional Learning Paper 52, The Open University.

Hayes, M. and Stringer, P. (2016) Introducing Farouk’s process consultation group approach in Irish primary schools. Educational Psychology in Practice, 32 (2), 145-162.

Lewis, T, F. (2017). Special Educational Need Coordinator (SENDCO) wellbeing: a mixed methods exploration of workplace demands and effective coping actions. University of Birmingham.

Lyons, R. (2019). Reducing Exclusions in Salford: Identifying and Supporting Special Educational Needs (SEN), Summary Report (Part Three). Salford: Salford City Council.

Todd, L. (2003). Enabling pupil participation. Special Children. April/May, 22-25.