, Leeds Local Offer: The early years education offer What is the early education offer and where has it come from? The Children and Families Act became law in March 2014. The Act aims to improve services for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities and their families. The Act is supported by something called the SEN code of practice. The code of practice gives guidance to all the education, health and social care partners who deliver services for children and young people with SEN and disabilities. The code says that local authorities (Councils) should set out details of the offer of support families can expect from all education providers in the area, including early education providers. This guide sets out the offer of support that families can expect from early education providers in Leeds, including Children’s Centres, nurseries, pre-schools and childminders. Who decided what to include in the early years offer? A working group called the Early Years Inclusion group worked together to agree the offer of support. This group is coordinated by the Leeds City Council Early Start manager and includes: • • • representatives of maintained, private, voluntary and independent early education providers partners from health and education services parents and carers Consultation with more early education providers was also done at meetings with early years SENCOs and leaders. Their comments were taken into account and influenced the final offer. This group also decided that all early education providers who access funding from Leeds City Council should publish simple details of their individual offer of support for children with SEN and disabilities, in their own websites and/or printed information. Parents and carers on the group felt this would be really helpful and make sure families feel welcomed and supported. 1 Leeds Local Offer: early education, August 2014, [email protected] , How can I find an early education provider in my area? If you have access to the internet you can use the Family Information Service website to search for all early education providers in your local area at www.familyinformationleeds.co.uk. You can also visit any Leeds library and ask for help to use this website and access the rest of the Leeds Local Offer online (www.leeds.gov.uk/localoffer) All early education providers who access Leeds City Council funding are expected to publish details of their offer of support for children with SEN and disabilities, on their own websites and/or printed information. If you don’t have access to the internet you can call the Family Information Service for a printed list of all the early education providers in your area, on free phone 0800 731 0640 or 0113 2474386. The Family Information Service also provides information on funding for early education, including free places for 2, 3 and 4 year olds, and support for early education at home (portage). The offer of support for young children with SEN and disabilities (SEND) that families can expect from all early education providers in Leeds: Ethos/ philosophy Settings will have an inclusive ethos and high aspirations for all children Settings will be committed to early intervention and the Early Support principles (www.gov.uk/help-for-disabled-child/early-supportprogramme) Settings will value and honour the voices of children and their families and provide opportunities for them to influence change Leadership There will be effective leadership at all levels in group settings, including the SENCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator; for childminders, this would be the childminder) The setting’s prospectus or information leaflets will include a vision statement of how they will meet the needs of children with SEND There will be effective monitoring, review, evaluation of SEND provision. There will be accountability and governance of SEND provision and regular reporting on how individual needs are met 2 Leeds Local Offer: early education, August 2014, [email protected] , Budget Families will be able to access clear information about how funding for SEND in the setting’s budget is used to support learners Settings will make effective use of available funding from the local authority (Early Years Funding for Inclusion, for more details contact 0113 3951030 or [email protected]) Policies The setting’s policies and practice will demonstrate an inclusive ethos and a commitment to equal opportunities for all children. Policies and practice will be in line with the EYFS 2014 and the Equalities Act 2010. Curriculum, teaching and learning There will be an appropriate curriculum that meets specific needs. Planning will be outcomes-based to support the needs of the child There will be effective teaching which focuses on meeting the needs of individual children and management of support There will be clear and regularly reviewed plans for children, ensuring they make good progress from their starting points A range of ‘interventions’ (support programmes) will be used to meet different needs, for example small group work, personalised programmes There will be effective use of appropriate resources and an accessible, enabling environment for learning and play. There will be access to ancillary aids and assistive technology where needed There will be extra support arrangements to aid the social, emotional and behavioural development of children and young people with SEND, including measures to prevent bullying Transition arrangements will be carefully planned to meet the needs of individual children. Good practice around transition is detailed in the ”Starting and Staying Strong” guidance provided by the early years learning improvement team Assessment There will be a graduated approach to assessment and high quality practice in assessment. There will be an established method for recording agreed outcomes of assessment and communicating the outcomes to those involved, especially parents Settings will support Education Health and Care Needs Assessment and Education Health and Care plans. Progress and plans will be regularly reviewed and evaluated to inform next steps 3 Leeds Local Offer: early education, August 2014, [email protected] , Settings will complete a progress check at age 2 and the early years foundation stage profile at the end of the reception year to help check on progress. This is a requirement Workforce All practitioners in the setting will have or be supported to gain basic development awareness of inclusion issues and training Practitioners working directly with children and young people with SEND will have, or be supported to develop enhanced skills to meet particular types of need, for example a specific complex medical condition Practitioners who wish to gain specialist level skills and knowledge will be supported to do so in group settings There will be access to practitioners trained to deliver Early Help support (Early Help is what we call our approach in Leeds of supporting families who need extra help, early on.) Working in partnership with other agencies Settings will engage with teams in the local authority if needed, including the Early Years Learning Improvement team, the Educational Psychology team, the SENSAP team (supporting Education Health and Care Needs Assessment) and the SEN and Inclusion Team Settings will work in partnership with other agencies if needed, including speech and language therapy services, child development centres, early start teams, the Parent Partnership Service, and other early years settings Settings will also access support in their local area and cluster, for example children’s centres, family outreach workers, targeted services leaders, and area inclusion partnerships What if I think there is something missing in this offer of support or something needs changing? The Early Years Inclusion group (see above) will continue to meet in future to keep reviewing the offer of support. The group want to hear feedback from families to help develop the offer. To give your feedback, please email [email protected] or write to us at: Best practice development team, Children’s Services, Leeds City Council, Adams Court, Kildare Terrace, Leeds, LS12 1DB. 4 Leeds Local Offer: early education, August 2014, [email protected] , What if I think my early education provider is not providing this offer of support and my child’s needs are not being met? If you are unhappy about the support you are receiving from an early education provider, we recommend you talk to them first and explain your concerns so they have chance to talk about this with you and resolve problems together. If you are still unhappy, you can make a complaint to Leeds City Council. Please be aware that if the early years provider is run by a private, voluntary or independent organisation, or is part of a school, the Council may not be able to make them take any particular action. However we can encourage them and offer them support to be fully inclusive. To make a complaint, you can complete a ‘Contact Us e-form’ on the Leeds City Council website at www.leeds.gov.uk/council/Pages/Let-Us-Know-ComplimentsComplaints-and-Feedback. You can also speak to an advisor on 0113 222 4405. You can also make a complaint direct to Ofsted. Ofsted is the office for standards in education, the national body which inspects and regulates childcare and early education. You can contact Ofsted via email on [email protected] or call 0300 123 4666. How can I get more advice and support? If you would like advice and information about how to use the Leeds Local Offer please contact the Leeds SEND Information Advice Support Service (formerly Parent Partnership Service). The team can provide you with general information about services for SEN and disabilities and advise you on how best to access the site from a private or public computer or mobile device (phone or tablet). eaflets and downloads can also be posted out to you. For expert advice on any of the services shown in the Leeds Local Offer please use the contact details that each specific website provides. You can call the Helpline on 0113 3951200 or send an email to: [email protected] 5 Leeds Local Offer: early education, August 2014, [email protected]