Early Years Inclusion Advisor (EYIA)

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.

In addition to individual support for children with additional need, the EYIA offers a rolling programme of training to PVI Special Educational Need Coordinators (SENCos) as well as to staff. For example, termly SENCo Network Meetings, SENCo Induction, Autism Awareness, Understanding Sensory Processing, Writing Early Years Intervention Plans (EYIPs), Early Years SEN Code of Practice, and Writing Reports for Education, Health and Care needs assessments. Childminders can access Autism Awareness training.

The Early Years Inclusion Advisor (EYIA) aims to provide the following as part of the specialist support/advice for PVI staff in Wokingham. Some of the services can be accessed by PVI staff from other boroughs where that setting supports a Wokingham child:

• Support for parents in understanding the developmental and educational needs of their child
• Identification and understanding of needs and behaviours, so that appropriate interventions and strategies can be implemented, to help the child make progress 
• Support for providers to be able to implement appropriate teaching styles, strategies, behaviour management and to write appropriate 'outcomes' for children
• Collaborate with parents/carers and if appropriate liaise with relevant professionals to ensure a positive outcome for the child
• Support staff in enabling children towards becoming as independent, confident and competent learners and communicators as they are able to be
• Facilitate the process of successful transition meetings into both an early years setting and school
• Inform parents of the options regarding appropriate early years settings and schools, helping them to make informed decisions and to feel confident that the setting is able to meet the needs of their child
• Signpost parents to other services and if appropriate make direct referrals to other services 
• Advise parents and staff where appropriate, regarding the Education Health and Care needs assessment process.