Special Educational Needs and Disability

We offer support, advice and training to early years practitioners in private, voluntary and independent settings, including childminders,  in Peterborough to develop their knowledge and expertise in early identification and intervention for children with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND).

If you have concerns about a child’s development, the EYFS is very clear that you should act immediately and begin the Graduated Approach in partnership with the family. 

If you require support from the Early Childhood Specialist for Inclusion to give advice about meeting the needs of a child/children in your early years setting, you will need to complete a Request for Support from the Early Years and Childcare Team form. You will need signed permission from the parent/carer prior to requesting support.  Please attach a copy of the child's My SEND Support Plan when submitting the request form.

We will then contact the key person who will offer advice around supporting the child in your environment, daily strategies, individual targets and possible referrals to other professionals. Depending on individual circumstances we may send details of the information discussed to you for you to share with the family and practitioners in the setting, or signpost you to appropriate websites.

It is the role of the key person, with the support of the setting SENCO to complete the review with the family and discuss next steps as part of your Graduated Approach to the child’s SEND.

The Early Childhood Specialist for Inclusion can be contacted to support the key person when they review the targets, typically every 8 weeks. This can be done via the phone, email or Teams.

Other Support Available

Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision in Early Years Settings:

Peterborough's Early Years Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision (OAIP) is the standard, good practice support that early year's settings should provide for children with additional needs, using their own resources without specialist input.

It is intended that the strategies included are clear, simple and effective and can be followed by all practitioners and parents, without prior specialist training. They can be used as soon as a child’s needs are identified, before specialist support is requested or whilst waiting for a visit from a specialist. The strategies can be used for all children, whether they have an identified need or not.

Early Years SEND Development Toolkit:

The Peterborough Early Years SEND Development Toolkit is an assessment tool, which can support you in accurately assessing the developmental level of children with SEND. Please feel free to contact The Early Years Team or Special Educational Needs Inclusion Services (for schools) for further information around using the Developmental Toolkit.

It is important to note:

❖ It is not necessary or appropriate to record assessments for every statement.

❖ The outcomes stated in each step are based on expected developmental milestones: they reflect the learning we may expect to see for a child of that age. These statements should be treated as a guide: each child will proceed in their development at their own rate and will present attainments across a range of steps.

❖ For the majority of children, a Graduated Approach (A/P/D/R) should be completed within the setting prior to requesting involvement from an external professional agency. However, for children entering provision with evident high-level learning needs it may be appropriate to seek such involvement earlier in the cycle.

Settings and schools can access support / services from other Local Authority Teams or our partners. Information and links to the services are detailed below: -

Occupational therapy form - this referral form can be used by childminders and practitioners in Peterborough Early Years settings in partnership with parents/carers who are registered at a Peterborough GP surgery.

Occupational Therapy Referrals | CPFT NHS Trust
Occupational-Therapy-Physiotherapy-Referral-Form.docx

Physiotherapy form - this referral form can be used by childminders and practitioners in Peterborough Early Years settings in partnership with parents/carers who are registered at a Peterborough GP surgery.

Occupational Therapy Referrals | CPFT NHS Trust
Occupational-Therapy-Physiotherapy-Referral-Form.docx

Speech and Language Therapy Services
More information and means of referral can be found on the links below:

Children's Speech and Language Therapy Service- Peterborough (CPFT) | CPFT NHS Trust
Referrals and Early Advice Sessions: Children's Speech and Language Therapy | CPFT NHS Trust

SENI Services form (below attachment) - this can be used by childminders and practitioners in Peterborough Early Years settings in partnership with parents/carers to request involvement from visual and hearing-impaired services and physical disability teacher.