Dealing With Sen In Preschools

[Guest]

Hi all,

 

We have a couple of children who seem to have SEN issues. Staff have started doing observations and have invited the speech person in. Could you let me know what they need to do in terms of paperwork? As a teacher I've worked with IEPs, but is it the same at this age, I've heard someone mention play plans, what are they and is this a preschool version of IEP?

 

I'm assuming what we're after is some targets and strategies and then to meet with parents to discuss how we can support.

 

Thanks.

[AnonyMouse_15046]

You can design what you think works best for your setting and approach.

 

An IEP, ILP, playplan or whatever you choose to call it, based on play with SMART targets, input from parents, etc for a child on Early Years Action would give you and the parents a framework to use to work together and when asking for more help at Action plus if necessary.

 

There are quite a few examples on the forum if you do a search.

[AnonyMouse_8466]

Your SENCo, or Inclusion Officer (depending on the terminology used locally) should have all the information you need, including an IEP or ILP form to be used when it has decided that the setting needs to implement a planned response to a child's additional needs. In our Local Authority our Inclusion Co-ordinators attend termly whole-Borough training as well as ad-hoc workshops to keep their knowledge up to date.

 

Also, what does your policy say about how children's additional needs are identified and then shared with parents? Ours says that we will observe children to ascertain their stage of development, and then share concerns with parents before contacting outside agencies and/or drawing up an IEP to set targets and agree how the setting and parents will support the child to meet the targets.

 

Maz

[AnonyMouse_9650]

Once we have completed our initial obs we too discuss with parents to determine where we go next. As well as all the paperwork it is mandatory in our area to have written permission from the parents prior to seeking additional support of any kind, including initial visits from LA SEN support. Depending on the number of agencies involved you then might have to start thinking down the CAF route. Another good source is the Early Support stuff. We have a full set of their publications which we loan to parents as needed as well as a small supply of the family packs for the families that we have where the additional needs are quite complex. The link to early support is here

 

Early Support

[Guest]

Thanks all, our SENCO is quite nervous about the role and we're trying to encourage her not to see it as a negative if a child needs extra support. I'll make sure that parents are approached ahead of drawing up any play plans or similar.

[AnonyMouse_30128]

don't know if this is any help but we

1) have an early action form for those children you may have concerns about but just need to do obs on

2) if we feel there are problems often go down the physical checks first (eyes/ears/hearing etc...)

3) suggest they consult doctor/health visitor/ or salt drop in centre (if you have one)

4) follow up - further consultation needed or continue to monitor and observe

5) identified problem - sat up iep (we use the portage ones slighly adapted to fit in with eyfs)

continue to work with parents ey advisors etc.etc,......

Caf should only be used when you think the child is not getting the support required - we often have children with 15 agencies involved who do not require a caf!

Enjoy!!! children with sen are a godsend to the setting they challenge your thinking and your practise and are a joy to work with