What is the Early Years Special Educational Needs and Disability Inclusion Panel (SENDIP)?
Children and their needs evolve and change especially in their early years so it might not always be possibly to determine how complex any Special Educational Needs might be, and therefore the level of Special Educational provision and support required. The Early Years Special Educational Needs and Disability Inclusion Panel (SENDIP) supports children in their early years by arranging and implementing a package of support for a child.
SENDIP is a panel made up of representatives from Early Years SEND including the Area SENco Team, Statutory SEND Team, Children’s Centre SEND Lead, Educational Psychology Team, a Social Care representative, Early Years Specialist Provider, and Health Visiting SEND Lead. The primary purpose of SENDIP is to support the inclusion of young children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities, or those who are particularly vulnerable, into and within early years settings and through their transition to school (reception).
The panel considers requests for two year-olds, three year-olds and four year-olds who are in receipt of their early education entitlement (EYE) based on a set of guidelines. Children meeting the thresholds will have, or are likely to have, complex and long term needs which will require highly specialist educational provision in the future. This means educational provision which is additional to, or different from, that which normally takes place within the setting. The panel will make a decision on the level of Inclusion Support Funding (ISF) as part of a package of support for children meeting the thresholds. Transition Support Funding (TSF) will also be considered for children in their pre-school year who are due to transition to school. As part of this package of support, some children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs (SEMH) will be considered for the Nurture Outreach Service.
Who is eligible for support from Early Years SENDIP?
A child must be claiming their early years entitlement (EYE) to be eligible for Inclusion Support Funding (ISF) or Transition Support Funding (TSF). The eligibility criteria can be found in the SENDIP Thresholds document, please contact the team for this.
To access Inclusion Support Funding (ISF), the early years setting must be based in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES). Please note, the Local Authority is not obliged to fund a child under two years old. If the child is attending an early years setting outside of B&NES please contact the Local Authority in which the early years setting is based for further information on their funding procedures.
Where can the support offered through Early Years SENDIP be accessed?
Inclusion Support Funding enables an early years provider (nursery, pre-school, childminder etc.) to provide extra support to children attending their setting. Its primary purpose is to enable children aged two years and over (on their early years entitlement) with SEND to achieve better outcomes and to access their entitlement funding. It allows an early years provider to increase their staffing ratios within the environment in order to increase the capacity of the child’s Key Person and/or where appropriate, to purchase other services.
Transition Support Funding is split into two parts.
Part 1 - The early years setting will receive a small amount of funding in term six to support the child’s transition to school. The setting will be expected to use this funding to take the lead in the child’s transition to school by arranging transition meetings and ensuring all relevant paperwork is shared with the school.
Part 2 - The school will receive funding for the child’s reception year to ensure a positive and smooth transition takes place. This will normally involve the school recruiting a Teaching Assistant (TA) to work with the child and provide increased support for that child during their reception year.
As part of the request for Transition Support Funding, the panel will consider if a child would benefit from the Nurture Outreach Service. The majority of children identified for the Nurture Outreach Service will be vulnerable children, with social, emotional or mental health needs, requiring specialised nurtured transitions into school. Children who are looked after / in care will be considered as a high priority for the Nurture Outreach Service and children must meet the same criteria as required for Transition Support Funding in school.
How can a request for support from Early Years SENDIP be made?
A range of professionals can make applications to SENDIP including Early Years Settings, Health Visitors, Children Centre Practitioners and other Health professionals.
A SENDIP request form must be completed in order to make a request for funding and in the first instance parents should speak with their nursery, pre-school or childminder for further information.
Contact details
Nicholas Fortt – Early Years SEND Inclusion and Partnership Manager.
Hayley Clark – Early Years SEND Inclusion Coordinator.
Ellen Brook – Early Years SEND Inclusion Administrator
Telephone: 01225 395608
Address:
Lewis House,
Manvers Street,
Bath, BA1 1JG