Special Needs Early Years Service

We work passionately to deliver a service for children where their learning is delayed, or where a diagnosis has been made or is being investigated. Every child is unique and so are their needs. Our aim is to provide identification of children’s needs, and implement any specialist support required, at the earliest opportunity. 

To ensure that this happens, we work in accordance with the SEN Code of Practice 2015 to follow the Graduated Response to SEND to ensure that where a child has a special educational need which requires either Targeted or Specialist intervention, this is identified and met. 

Our work with children takes place in family homes, in Nursery settings, including both school and private nurseries and within the Child Development Centre Specialist Groups and Child Development Centre (CDC).

We know that many children attend private nursery settings, and the Special Needs Early Years Service carries out an important role within all City of Wolverhampton private settings by directly supporting their individual Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCo) through regular individualised supervision and focused training, to ensure that where necessary, children’s needs are identified and met at the earliest point.

We work closely and collaboratively with our Education, Health and Social Care partners. This includes collaborative working with Education teams, Paediatricians, Speech and Language Therapists, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapists and Family or Social Care Support Teams. 

For some children with an identified special educational need or disability, there may be an opportunity to attend a CDC Specialist Group. These are led by Teams from the Special Needs Early Years Service but are staffed jointly with Advanced Health Care Support staff and staff from the Special Needs Early Years team. Children may be invited to attend as part of their assessment, or for ongoing support and intervention. 

Ensuring that services work effectively together to provide the best support for children and families is prioritised by using the Team Around the Child (TAC) approach to ensure that the best possible communication and support for children and their families is provided. 

Where evidence from a specialist service suggests that an assessment to consider a diagnosis of Autism is needed, Special Needs Early Years will submit, or support referrals to the Under Fives’ Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnostic Panel and act as a Keyworker throughout the period of assessment.

For every child known to the service we:

• Complete an initial individual assessment of educational need.
• Provide a written report to outline next steps of development and the support required. 
• Provide advice, guidance and training to parents, carers, schools and private nursery settings.
• Monitor progress and set new targets, working in periods of 12 weeks to ensure that time is given for strategies to be effective.
• Support transitions into or between settings when children enter or move between placements or when our service is no longer required.

Where appropriate we:

• Lead or attend Team Around the Child meetings to ensure that the child and their family are at the centre of all decision making. 
• Make recommendations or submit requests for Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments.
• Complete Educational Advice to contribute to assessments for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) as requested.
• Make or support referrals for further assessment, if necessary, for example for assessment for Autism, Occupational Therapy, Community Paediatrics or other services which form part of the CDC.

Special Needs Early Years Service operates an open referral system. Referrals can be made by parents, as well as education and health professionals. Referrals are made using the Multi-Agency Referral Form or by contacting the service directly.

All referrals need to include information about the child’s current needs. For education professionals, this must evidence the Graduated Approach to SEND.

All referrals are discussed at a monthly Multi-Agency Referral Panel. The panel discusses each referral who will determine appropriate support needed. Following this a member of the team will respond to the referrer outlining any offer of support and contact is made with Parents and Carers prior to any assessment commencing.

Further information can be found by visiting Special Needs Early Years Service | Wolverhampton Information Network.

After your child has been referred into the Child Development Service, a member of the Special Needs Early Years (SNEYs) team will offer their support via the educational setting in which your child attends.

If your child does not attend an educational setting, we will offer support either in the home or at an appointment held at the GEM Centre or Brickkiln Community Centre. A member of the SNEYs team will arrange this appointment. The aim of the home visit/appointment is to help you as parents/carers to better understand your child’s special educational needs as well as strategies that can be put in place. 

The Special Needs Early Years team in Wolverhampton act as the Area SENCo for the Private, Voluntary and Independent Sector. This includes child minders, private nurseries, playgroups, and independent school nurseries. 

Area SENCOs provide advice and guidance to early years providers on the development of inclusive early learning environments. The Area SENCO helps make the links between education, health and social care to facilitate appropriate early provision for children with SEN and their transition to compulsory schooling.

Wolverhampton have a robust training offer which is accessed free for all PVI sector settings. This includes ‘on demand’ training for all settings to access flexibly, which can be shared amongst staff working in the setting to promote inclusive practice. Specialist training is also available covering topics such as the early identification of SEND, the graduated approach and the role of the Area SENCo.

PVIs in Wolverhampton have access to three monitoring and support visits per year. These focus on developing inclusive practices, to monitor the provision of the graduated approach, to ensure policies and procedures are up-to-date and to provide support to settings around inclusive strategies and to provide training. 

By email: SpecialNeeds.EarlyYears@wolverhampton.gov.uk

By telephone: 01902 558406

• Child Development Centre Specialist Groups - There are 5 Specialist Groups. Each of these support children’s identified special needs which include Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD), Communication and Interaction and Autism, Down Syndrome and Genetic conditions, and Physical Disability.
   
• Child Development Centre (CDC) – based at The Gem Centre The service offers a city-wide, specialist integrated service for children birth to 5 years of age who may have factors that affect their development. The service works closely with Universal services to ensure early identification, support and treatment of children with SEND to improve long term outcomes. The team work closely with families to formulate an individual programme of assessment, diagnosis, care and support to meet the needs of each child through a coordinated approach.
   
• Special Educational Needs Coordinator SENCo – Special Educational Needs Coordinator – a designated professional in a setting with responsibility for identification and appropriate support of individual needs. 
   
• Team Around the Child (TAC) - an approach for children with complex needs where a number of professionals are involved. A Key worker acts as a single point of contact to support families.
   
• SEND Code of Practice 2015 - Outlines of statutory duties of all professionals supporting the needs of children with Special educational Needs and/or Disabilities. 
   
• Graduated Approach – this comprises universal support (support that every child has), targeted support (support given to a specific child either in the classroom or through intervention) and specialist support (support provided by a specialist / professional)
   
• EHCNA – Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment – an assessment that looks at all elements of a child’s development to identify whether a high level of specialist support is required.
   
• Educational Advice – A document outlining current strengths and clear description of needs, with provision advised to meet aspirational outcomes over given periods of time.
   
• Education, Health and Care Plan – a document which identifies a child’s special educational needs and the specialist support required.
   
• SEND – Special Educational Need and/or Disability

Debra Baker
Team Leader 

Amelia Jackson
Team Leader 

Rachel Wright
Specialist Teacher 

Joanne Maddocks
Specialist Teacher 

Jennie Lowe
Specialist Teacher

Victoria Glass
Specialist Teacher 

Lucie Maddox
Specialist Higher Level Teaching Assistant 

Marcy Evans
Specialist Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Edwina Fereday
Specialist Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Kiren Nahan
Specialist Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Leanne Concliffe
Specialist Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Rachael Ashford
Specialist Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Hayley Smith
Specialist Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Amanda Skipton
Specialist Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Louise Bradley
Specialist Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Maria Brain
Specialist Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Stacey Bucknall
Specialist Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Lisa Hollingshead
Team Around the Child Coordinator