SEN Support
at Billericay Methodist Preschool
Special educational needs, disability and areas of need
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice (2015) defines special educational needs as follows
“A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:
-
has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age,
-
has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream-post 16 institutions.”
For children aged two or more special educational provision is education or training provision that is additional to, or different from that generally is made for other children of the same age. For a child under the age of two, special educational provision means education provision of any kind. A child under compulsory school age has special educational needs if he or she is likely to fall within the definition shown above when they reach compulsory school age, or would do so if special educational provision were not made available for them.
Children’s special educational needs are generally thought of in the following four broad areas of need and support:
-
communication and interaction;
-
cognition and learning;
-
social, emotional and mental health, and;
-
sensory and/or physical needs.
There is often an overlap between disability and special educational needs. Therefore, a child can be defined as being disabled, having a special educational need (SEN) or having both a special educational need and a disability (SEND).
The Equality Act (2010) defines disability as
a physical or mental impairment and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
This definition provides a relatively low threshold and includes many children and adults. Long term is defined by the Equality Act as a year or more and substantial is defined as more than minor to trivial.
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and SEND
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is the statutory framework for children's early education aged 0 to 5 years providing standards for all children's learning (including those with additional needs), development and care in early years settings. Our early years setting follows the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the EYFS and the learning and development requirement. All Ofsted - registered settings offering early years provision must meet these standards to ensure that children learn and develop well and are kept healthy and safe.
The EYFS states that those that work with young children should be alert to emerging difficulties and respond early to concerns. SENCOs need to be aware that in particular, parent/carers know their children best and it is important that all practitioners listen and understand when they express concerns about their child’s development. They should also listen to and address any concerns raised by children themselves.
​
Our SENDCO's are Katie Groves and Sarah Woehrle.
​
We ensure children's needs are identified early, appropriate support is given, and children are referred onto external agencies if their learning and development continues to be a concern. ​
​
Other useful documents
SEND guide for early years settings
SEND guide for parents and carers
Useful organisations
Independent Parental Special Education Advice (IPSEA)
National Deaf Children’s Society