Special Educational Needs and Disability

Early Childhood Specialists – Inclusion:

Andrea Gamman, Emma Brader and Lynne Jennings 

We offer support, advice and training to early years practitioners in private, voluntary and independent settings 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 you should act immediately and begin the Graduated Approach in partnership with the family.

If a setting or childminder requires support to meet the needs of a child/children in their early years setting, with signed permission from the parent/carer they may complete a Request for Support from the Early Years and Childcare Team form. Please attach a copy of the child's My SEND Support Plan when submitting the request form.

The key person will be contacted by their Early Childhood Specialist - Inclusion who will offer advice around supporting the child in your environment, daily strategies, individual targets and possible referrals to other professionals. The information we have discussed will then be sent to your setting for you to share with the family and practitioners in the setting.

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 - Inclusion can be contacted to support the key person when they review the targets which will be done every 8 weeks. This will usually be done by email or phone call.

We are also able to offer some support to reception class staff where they are not experienced in supporting children at a significantly lower stage of development.  Schools can complete an online School request for contact form, highlighting the strategies and interventions already implemented. The request will be forwarded on to the Early Childhood Specialists - Inclusion. A phone call/Teams chat will be arranged to offer support.