Introduce
You will be working with children who may have a range of needs and because of the life stage, your work runs parallel to a phase that is fundamentally about development. The character of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities may be emergent. Your experience of working in the Early Years means that you may be most familiar with how children typically develop and where extra support may be required. Early Years Professionals play a key role in signposting.
The local offer
Local authorities are required to make information available about services in their locality for children and young people from birth to 25 who have Special Educational Needs or Disabilities services outside the area which children and young people from their area may use. This is called the “Local Offer”. These services might be provided by the local authority, the NHS or charities or businesses.
This is resource is freely accessible to residents in the local authority. However, you may find that some authorities share links to Local Offers in the surrounding area.
Some useful links for further information:
Develop
Parents/carers may struggle with knowing where to get support from and because it can take time to reach a diagnosis, signposting can be hard. Early identification is crucial and might include newborn screening, contact with health professionals and family hubs.
Voluntary, community and social enterprise
‘1001 critical days’ covers conception to two years. This period is regarded as crucial to child’s development for shaping lifelong emotional and physical well-being. Significant developments occur within the brain. Local and national initiatives and policies are targeted at this period designed to support families give children the best start possible. This includes family support and workforce empowerment to better meet families’ needs. For more, see here: The best start for life.
Health visitors for example, play a key role at this crucial point.
Local services that may be voluntary or community based play an important role in supporting a wide range of needs. The competency framework encourages professionals to understand the local offer.
Watch the following videos:
Nuala Finegan, Senior School Quality Assurance Officer for SEND, Manchester City Council
Joanne Keenan, Early Years Inclusion Manager, Wigan
Apply Your Thinking: Researching how your local area responds to the special educational needs and disabilities in the Early Years.
Are there key services who support SEND? What are they offering to children aged between 0 -5 years old and their families?
All Greater Manchester local authorities have local offers on their websites (see links below to yours). These provide information which helps families to understand what services and support is available locally for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND). Local offers aim to ensure that families have access to suitable resources and services to support their children’s needs.
For further information on your local offer, see below:
Reflect
What opportunities are there for you to expand or improve on the local offer?