Some young children have difficulties in their development, and need additional help and support in order to reach their full potential. Young children develop at vastly different rates, and not one child’s development is the same. Sometimes young children experience difficulties that can be addressed quite quickly with a little help and support. Other children may experience difficulties that are wider ranging and are likely to result in them having difficulties over a longer period of time. Sometimes this is evident from birth, and sometimes it becomes more apparent as they develop.

If you are concerned about an aspect of your child’s development and would like advice, you can talk to your:

• Health Visitor
• GP
• local children centre
• childminder
• key worker at your child's pre-school or nursery

All two year olds should be offered a two-year check by your health visitor - this is a useful time to talk through any concerns you may have

We have lots of strategies and resources you may find useful to help support your child. In addition, there are a range of professional services who offer support to young children, including:

• consultant paediatrician
• speech and language therapy.
• specialist teachers

Most young children can have their special educational needs met at their local pre-school or nursery setting .Some two year olds with SEND are eligible for funding for a pre-school or nursery place for up to 15 hours per week through the Time For Twos initiative.

Parents, carers and professionals can contact our SEND Support Service, email us for further advice and information.

All children are entitled to an education that enables them to achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes and become confident young children with a growing ability to communicate their own views and ready to make the transition into compulsory education. All early year’s providers in the maintained, private, voluntary and independent sectors that a local authority funds, are required to have regard to the 0-25 SEND Code of Practice. Early years providers must have arrangements in place to support children with SEN or disabilities. These arrangements should include a clear approach to identifying and responding to SEN. The benefits of early identification are widely recognised – identifying need at the earliest point, and then making effective provision, improves long-term outcomes for children.

If your child already has an identified need, you can let the setting know before your child starts so that the staff can begin to think about how they can best support your child. However, early years settings spend a lot of time observing and interacting children in play which helps them to find out about what each child can do and what they may need help with. 

If a need is identified, staff may agree with you to help your child by making small adaptations to the learning environment - for example, they may adapt their language level, or use visual aids to support understanding. This is easy to do and does not require anything extra.

If these adaptations do not allow your child to make expected progress, then staff may agree with you to implement other strategies. Your child’s progress will be reviewed regularly with you (usually every six weeks) and be planned in a careful, step by step way in what is called the graduated approach.

Parents, carers and professionals can contact our SEND Support Service, email us for further advice and information.

More information about the support available for your child at different ages can be read at 'Children with SEND' on the Gov website.

Find out about the different services available and how to access them in our guide to routes into SEND services. More information about each service can be found on the relevant pages of our website, under What the SEND team does.

Your child may be eligible for a SEN Support plan or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

If your child is not making progress despite the staff providing strategies that are ‘different from’ or ‘additional to’, the early years setting may suggest giving additional adult support to your child. This can be funded with a SEND Inclusion Grant which is usually granted for twelve weeks, depending on the need.

Sometimes, if your child is known to an outside professional, for example, a specialist teacher or educational psychologist, they may suggest that the setting requests a SEND Inclusion Grant and advise the setting on how best to support your child.

For some children with SEND, the support and interventions made will allow them to make progress. For others however, it may become apparent that despite the interventions in place, the rate of their progress is slow and their needs are ‘complex and long term’.  In this instance, it may be appropriate to request an Education, Health and Care Plan.

Time for Twos

Parents of children aged two in receipt of certain benefits could qualify for up to 15 hours of free childcare education each week at a local nursery, pre-school or a childminder in your area - further information can be found on our MKCC site on Time for Twos. 

Three and four year old early education (universal 15 hours)

Three and four year old children are eligible for 15 hours universal early education. This could either be at a local nursery, pre-school or a childminder in your area. Information on Three and four year old early education (universal 15 hours) can be found on our MKCC site. 

We offer a variety of free programmes for parents and carers to develop their own knowledge and understanding of different SEND and introduce a range of strategies that can be used when supporting children. 

More information can be found on our parent and carer programmes page.