Children below school age with Special

Educational Needs

How can we help?

• Advice on Early Years Action and Action Plus

• Advice on requesting Statutory Assessment for a child under 5

• Advice on Statements of Special Educational Needs for under 5s ; description of needs, provision to meet the needs and choice of setting

• Negotiation and Mediation with the LA for funding of therapeutic input and for nursery /flexi /school or home based education for children under 5

• Preparation of paperwork, representations and statements for Tribunal Hearings.

• Representation at the Tribunal Hearing
  
  

Education for 3-5 year olds

Wherever it occurs, early education provision is part of the foundation stage of education for children aged 3–5 years. The period up to the end of Reception Year is called the Foundation Stage. Most children transfer to Reception Year in a primary school in the year in which they reach compulsory school age.

Monitoring of individual children’s progress throughout the foundation stage is essential. Where a child appears not to be making progress either generally or in a specific aspect of learning, then it may be necessary to present different opportunities or use alternative approaches to learning. Ongoing difficulties may indicate the need for a level of help above that which is normally available for children in the particular early education setting.

Entitlement to Education

Three and four year olds in England are entitled to a minimum of 12.5 hours of free learning for 38 weeks of the year. However many LAs make full time arrangements for 3 and 4 year olds in their area.

Compulsory school age

A child reaches compulsory school age at the beginning of the term after the child’s 5th birthday

Early Years Action and Action Plus

Once practitioners have identified that a child has special educational needs, the setting should intervene through Early Years Action. If there is not  satisfactory progress the SENCO may need to seek advice and support from external agencies. These forms of intervention are referred to below as Early Years Action Plus.

IEPs and Reviews

Strategies employed to enable the child to progress should be recorded within an Individual Education Plan (IEP) The IEP should be crisply written and focus on three or four key targets. IEPs should be discussed with parents and the child.

Statutory Assessment for under 5s

A very few children may need more help than is available on Action Plus. It will then be necessary to consider whether a statutory multi-disciplinary assessment may be appropriate.

Parents, schools and settings can make a request to the LA for a statutory assessment.

The LA is then responsible for determining whether a statutory assessment is required.

Criteria for statutory assessment of children under compulsory school age and over two

 In deciding whether a statutory assessment is necessary for a child over two but under compulsory school age, where the child is attending an early education setting, the LA should ask the following questions:

A.    What difficulties have been identified by the setting? Have the practitioners provided individualised strategies through Early Years Action and Early Years Action Plus to assist the child?

B.    Has outside advice been sought, regarding the child’s:

• Physical health and functioning
• Communication skills
• Perceptual and motor skills
• Self-help skills
• Social skills
• Emotional and behavioural development
• Responses to learning experiences
• Have parental views been considered?

The LA will then assess the evidence and decide whether the child’s difficulties or developmental delays are likely to be addressed only through a statement of special educational needs.

Where children aged between two and five have such severe and complex needs that statutory procedures are essential in order to maximise their opportunities, the statement will follow the same format as for any other children. The contributions of non-educational service providers are likely to be of key importance.

 LAs should consider informally reviewing a statement for a child under five at least every six months to ensure that the provision continues to be appropriate to the child’s needs. Such reviews would complement the statutory duty to carry out an annual review in accordance with the Regulations but would not necessarily require the same range of documentation so long as they reflected the significant changes which can take place in the progress of a child under the age of five. If necessary the statement should be amended following a six monthly review.

Choice of educational setting for children over 2

Parents of children under five and over two may express a preference for a maintained school to be named in their child’s statement. The LA must name the school the parents name so long as it meets the criteria set out in Schedule 27 of the Education Act 1996.

 The parents may also make representations in favour of an independent, private or voluntary early education setting for their child.

Statutory assessment of children under two

Section 331 of the Education Act states:

If an LEA believe that a child in their area who is under the age of two may have special educational needs for which the LEA should determine the special educational provision, the LEA may make an assessment of their educational needs if the parent consents to it, and must make such an assessment if the parent requests it. Such an assessment shall be made in such a manner as the authority consider appropriate. Following such an assessment, the LEA may make and maintain a statement of the child’s special educational needs in such manner, as they consider appropriate.

The child is likely to have a particular condition or to have a major health problem that has caused concern at an early stage. Assessment of children under two need not follow the statutory procedures that are applicable to assessments of children who are aged two and over.

Statements for children under two

Statements will be rare for children under two. The LA should first consider individual programmes of support according to the child’s particular needs. The procedures are not specified in legislation.