Additional support in early education and childcare

Early years education providers must have arrangements in place for identifying and meeting the needs of children with SEND.

All early years education and childcare providers must:

• give children with SEND the same opportunities as any other child
• not charge more money to look after children with SEND
• make reasonable adjustments so that children with SEND can use their services
• follow statutory guidance called the SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years (GOV.UK)
• work with professionals, such as Teachers of the Deaf (ToDs), and the local authority
• share information with parents about how they support children with SEND
• review children’s progress and share a summary with parents.

SEN support for deaf children, above the age of 2, is support that is additional to that available for hearing children of the same age. This may require staff to undertake extra training, to support a deaf child with:

• daily checking of hearing devices and assistive technology
• language and communication
• carrying out everyday routines.

SEN support for deaf children, under 2 years old, is education provision of any kind. You do not need to show that the support they need in education is additional to the support other children need.

You can ask the professionals who already support your child about SEN support. This may include a Teacher of the Deaf (ToD) or a speech and language therapist (SLT). Meet with them to discuss your child’s SEN so you can make sure that the best possible support is in place for your child. Find out more about speech and language therapy in England.

Some of the things that may work best for your child may be simple everyday adaptations. Most early years providers can make these, for example:

• not putting on background music during activities
• using good communication strategies, such as adding in extra visual information
• getting their attention before they speak.

Some adaptations or support may need extra resource or funding. Your early years provider or ToD should know how to access funding from your local authority. You should never be asked to pay for something your child needs to be able to access their early years care.

Make sure that any adaptations, strategies or provision are agreed and recorded. There should be a record of when and how often they will happen.

If you are advised or feel that your child may need further additional support, you have the right to request an assessment of your child's needs. This is known as an EHC needs assessment. If the local authority agrees to an assessment, it may lead to an EHCP.

An EHCP is a legal document which sets out:

• your child’s special educational needs (SEN)
• what support your child must receive
• a recommendation for where they should be educated if they are about to start school.

How to request an EHC needs assessment

To request an EHC needs assessment, you or a professional working with your child, must contact your local authority. Find the details of your council (GOV.UK).

You should make a written request and keep a copy of your letter. Your letter should set out:

• why you believe your child has or may have special educational needs
• why you believe they may need special educational provision to be made through an EHCP.

When requested to carry out an EHC needs assessment, a local authority must consider:

• whether the child has or may have special educational needs (SEN)
• whether they may need special educational provision to be made through an EHCP.

If the answer to both of these questions is yes, the local authority must carry out an EHC needs assessment.

If your local authority refuses to carry out an assessment, you can appeal. Their refusal letter must explain your right to appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal. We have more information about EHC needs assessments and EHCPs: 

If your local authority has agreed to carry out an EHC needs assessment, there are some things you can think about to prepare.

Your aspirations (hopes) for your child’s future (Section A in an EHC plan)

Think about what you want for your child. This can include employment, independence and friendships.

Although, as your child is still very young, you might not be looking so far ahead. You can think about what’s important in the not-so-distant future, in the next two years or by the time they start school.

It might help to think of sentences beginning: “When he is older, I want him to...” or “By the time she starts school I hope that she’ll be able to...”

Your child’s needs (Section B in an EHC plan)

It’s important to give the local authority the full picture of your child’s needs during the assessment. The support (known as provision in an EHC plan) your child receives will relate directly to the needs described in the plan. To get the right support, you’ll need to give an accurate and detailed description of your child’s needs.

You can think about your child’s needs and the help you give them with their:

• deafness
• receptive language skills (how your child receives and understands language)
• expressive language skills (how your child communicates)
• concentration and attention
• learning and cognitive development
• self-help/independence skills
• safety while out and about (road safety on nursery trips)
• social skills
• confidence, self-esteem, and emotional needs
• motor skills
• health needs
• social care needs
• support needed.

You can ask the local authority to seek advice from professionals working in education, health or social care. This could include:

• a ToD
• a SLT
• an occupational therapist
• someone from Deaf CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services).

If you already have advice and reports from professionals, these can be submitted as evidence. The local authority must consider this evidence when making its decision.

The local authority will tell you within 16 weeks whether an EHCP is going to be made for your child or not. If your child has not been given an EHCP you may be able to appeal the decision to the SEND Tribunal.

For advice on what to do next, contact our Helpline.

The local authority may decide to prepare an EHCP for your child. The information gathered for the assessment will be used to create the plan. The local authority must send you a draft version. This is a chance for you to check whether the draft EHCP contains everything it should.

For more information, read:

This will help you prepare for the assessment process and make sure that any EHCP meets your child’s needs. It includes some examples of the sort of provision you might expect to see in a plan.

It doesn’t matter whether your child has SEN support or an EHCP, SEN provision should be reviewed every 6 months. This is to make sure that the support in place is meeting your child’s changing development and needs.