Support in early years

How the team support your child -

• the Early Years Team can support your child at home if needed prior to starting at a nursery through the Portage home visiting team. Referrals can be made with initial assessments outlining a package of support that will be required. Initially this will be provided through a 6-week block of support once every fortnight, and then after reviewing a plan of support to be agreed
• if your child is not yet in a nursery or school setting, we can arrange a visit to come and see them at home before they start
• we can plan meetings or visit to the nursery or school setting to make sure as much information as possible can be shared to ensure everything is in place for your child before they start
• we will help the nursery or school setting plan a supported transition into nursery which suits the needs of your child
• as part of the Early Years package of support, we will monitor your child’s progress and how they have settled at nursery through regular meetings, observations, and reviews
• if your child needs more intensive support, we can provide Early Years funding to give a higher staff ratio as well as support referrals to other agencies
• when it is time for your child to move from the nursery, we will support your child’s transition into school and monitor the package of support available to ensure they can support your child’s individual needs

How they can help –

• the Early Years Team can undertake home visits. Sometimes they may need to be with other professionals. For example -
  • health visitor
  • nursery staff
  • portage worker
  • physio
• we will work alongside other agencies to ensure that your child has individual support. For example, Portage Service, KIDS, and Early Help
• we can support transition into the nursery to ensure the nursery setting know and understand your child’s needs as much as possible
• we will arrange a Team Around the Family (TAF) meeting with all professionals involved to ensure that everyone is working together to support your child
• identify with other professionals how to deliver the right support for your child whilst at a nursery setting
• we will support the setting and staff to enable them to provide the care and support your child needs whilst they are in attendance through observation and recommendations
• we can provide additional resources and funding where a child requires intensive support and interventions in the setting
• we provide a range of specialist training to upskill staff working with children with a wide range of identified needs and difficulties
• we will monitor your child’s progress and provision through regular reviews to ensure that their needs are met, and any changes required are made
• we follow closely the code of practice for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (2014)
• we will support any referral process that is required including a request for an ‘Education, Health and Care needs assessment (EHCNAR)’, which may result in an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) being issued to offer further support
• we will support your child’s transition from nursery into school
• we work very closely with Health Visitors to make sure that any difficulties are picked up as early as possible to support early intervention