Early Years Area SENCO: advice and support to staff in pre-schools

This service provides specialist advice and support to staff in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) pre-school sector. The service offers support to setting staff, and to childminders in receipt of Early Years Free Entitlement Funding to enable provision of high-quality inclusive, differentiated practice for children from birth to school age who have either emerging additional needs or identified special educational needs and or disability (SEND) and who live in the Borough of Wokingham.

The EYs SENCo offers:

Training on SEND related topics e.g. SENCo Induction, Autism, Attention Autism, Promoting Positive Behaviour
On-line drop-in sessions for SENCos to discuss any queries they may have and to offer short training sessions on SEND topics.
Following triage of referrals into the EYs team the EYs SENCo can offer support to setting staff for individual children. This can include observations, play based assessments, consultations with staff and parents to discuss the child in more detail and discuss outcomes and support required, training and modelling of strategies and interventions.
Supports settings to ensure EHCP provision is implemented appropriately
Supports settings through the first Annual review of an EHCP
Delivers Early Years SENCO networks (twice termly)
Sits on panels and forums within the council focused on the Early Years and promotes and advocates for this area.
Member of Early Years Support Panel where support available for pre-school children is discussed following a statutory notification from Health that the child may have SEND
Member of team who considers applications for Early Years Inclusion Funding and determines whether or not this is awarded

Contact information

Website: Children under 5 with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
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Contact Position: Early Years Area SENCO
E-mail: claire.doyle@wokingham.gov.uk
CSEPA-EducationalPsychologyAdmin@wokingham.gov.uk

Costs and Fee Information

Service/Activity is Free
How is the service funded: Local Authority

Complaints Procedure

Contact Name: Madeleine Cooper
Position: Educational Psychologist
Complaints procedure notes: CSEPA-EducationalPsychologyAdmin@wokingham.gov.uk

Accessing this service

Age Ranges

Birth-school entry in the Private
Voluntary sector. Birth-5yrs Independent sector

Eligibility Criteria

The EYIA can be accessed by any of the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) settings, as well as childminders registered for Early Years Free Entitlement Funding in the borough of Wokingham. In addition, PVI Early Years providers in other boroughs, can make use of the service for children who live in the borough of Wokingham. As part of the Graduated Approach - SEND Code of Practice 2015, it is expected that practitioners will have completed a range of national and standardised assessment materials and have implemented a range of strategies before requesting the involvement of the EY Area Senco.

Settings can request support from the EY team by completing a request for EY SEND support form. All requests to work with individual children must be accompanied by a signed parental consent form.

Booking and Registration Notes

Settings complete the EY SEND support request form

Waiting List

Requests are assessed on receipt of the documentation and allocated a date for intervention. The date offered is likely to be several weeks later.

Referral

Referral required

Who can refer

Via School

Referral notes

Referrals can be made by:

Any non-maintained nursery or pre-school for children living in the borough of Wokingham
Childminders registered to accept Free Entilement Funding
Early Years Support Panel

Provision For

Supporting people with: Mental health conditions
Neurological conditions
English as an additional language
Sensory Impairment
Autism Spectrum Conditions
Social Needs
Emotional Needs
Visual impairment
Children with Additional Needs
Behavioural
Learning and Communication
Mobility problems
Multi-sensory impairment
Medical
Physical impairment
Other long term conditions
Hearing impairment
Stroke