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In a rush? Here's the quick run-down.
As an Early Years educator, it's important to understand that every child is unique and will develop and learn differently. In my view, the role of the Early Years special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) is to get to know each child so you can support them and help them learn with curiosity and joy. To make this happen, we need to team up with parents and other professionals to support the child's key person.
Combining the key principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage with the requirements of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice is a great way to make sure you’re hitting the mark.
Before we kick things off let’s remind ourselves of the four EYFS principles:
In order to combine the EYFS principles with the SEND Code of Practice, we need to get three basics right. Take a moment to see if you’ve got these covered or if your setting could use a bit more work.
We all wish we had more time at work, but since our time is limited, it’s important to prioritise talking with families and listening to their insights about their child. If we don’t make room for these conversations, we might miss out on key information.
We also need time to collaborate with other professionals, like health and portage services, as well as family support workers. This helps ensure that staff have the most complete understanding of the child and the support they require.
We need dedicated time for training to get familiar with the SEND Code of Practice, understand how to meet children’s needs, and build confidence in supporting inclusive practices, including navigating local authority funding. This training will also help staff understand their role as a key person and ensure that every child, no matter their needs, makes progress.
The Statutory Framework for the EYFS (2023: p21) states that:
“Providers must support staff to undertake appropriate training and professional development opportunities to ensure that they offer quality learning and development experiences for children that continually improve.”
It’s not just training and speaking. We need time for thought too.
Many Early Years practitioners naturally reflect on their practices, often making changes to help children learn more easily.
What about taking time to think about theory and how to apply guidance documents in practice? I suggest using staff meetings to reflect on how your setting can be more inclusive.
Also during staff meetings think about and discuss strategies like story props, visual cues, and signing which help to include children with SEND, as well as better supporting all children.
Facilitating staff to think through and reflect on the following can be a great starting point.
The Early Years Guide to the SEN Code of Practice (2014:p14) states that:
“It is particularly important in the Early Years that there is no delay in making any necessary special educational provision. Delay at this stage can give rise to learning difficulty and subsequently to loss of self-esteem, frustration in learning and lead to behaviour difficulties. Early action to address identified needs is critical to the future progress and improved outcomes that are essential in helping the child to prepare for adult life.”
It’s a statement like this, that makes it clear why a SEN quality improvement action plan can be so important. Below, I’ve created an example, linking the EYFS principles and the SEN Code of Practice principles. While this can be a useful resource, remember to create a plan that is tailored to your setting and the needs of each child.
We recently spoke with Nursery Owner and Manager at Beeston Nursery and The Nice Boss, Roopam Carroll, all aboutsome of the strategies she uses to find more time in her daily work life.
Among many tips and tricks here are a few of the suggestions from Roopam:
Before we dive into the 4 sections you can fill in, let's look at 3 key components ( guided by principles from the EYFS) we will cover in the action plan:
Development Matters says:
“Every child is a unique child who is constantly learning and can be resilient, capable, confident and self-assured.”
In Early Years settings, it’s super important to really listen to both children and their families. By taking their feedback on board, we can make sure our support is spot-on and meets their needs perfectly.
Development Matters says:
“Children learn to be strong and independent through positive relationships.”
Development Matters says:
“Children learn and develop well in enabling environments, in which their experiences respond to their individual needs and there is a strong partnership between practitioners and parents and carers.”
Development Matters says:
“Practitioners foster the characteristics of effective early learning of playing and exploring, active learning, creating and thinking critically.”
Check out the list of resources we’ve put together to help you and your team better support the children at your setting.
Further reading and references
Guidance from the Danish Health Ministry, translated in full to English.
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The full recommendations from a working group of over 70 nursery chains in the UK.
Please note: here at Famly we love sharing creative activities for you to try with the children at your setting, but you know them best. Take the time to consider adaptions you might need to make so these activities are accessible and developmentally appropriate for the children you work with. Just as you ordinarily would, conduct risk assessments for your children and your setting before undertaking new activities, and ensure you and your staff are following your own health and safety guidelines.
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