2. Inclusive Practice and the Graduated Response
As within the Oldham Inclusion Framework EYFS for early years settings, there are 3 areas of the offer to inclusion providers should aim to follow the below approach to SEND, Inclusion and Equality.
Universal offer to inclusion
All children deserve access to a high-quality early education. Most children’s needs will be met through high quality teaching and learning environments. Some children may benefit from additional support such as smaller group work, repetition of learning and activities and consistent implementation of supporting practices and provision. These needs should be met through an effective cycle of assess-plan-do-review within inclusive education settings. Where it is identified that children are not making progress, and the gap between them and their peers is widening, despite changes to provision, such as reasonable adjustments and differentiated teaching, the next steps of the graduated response should be followed. Funding available to support this includes:
- Free Entitlement
- Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP).
Targeted offer to inclusion
Other children may need more specific individualised support to ensure they do not fall significantly below their peers. It is important that children who may be at risk of falling behind receive early intervention to narrow the gap between them and their peers. If the assess-plan-do-review cycle is not preventing the developmental gap from widening a more individualised support plan should be developed and specialist support should be sought. A SEN support plan should be developed and implemented following the advice of wider professionals. Funding available to support this includes:
- Free Entitlement,
- Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP),
- Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund (SENIF).
Specialist offer to inclusion
Children with the highest level of need should be supported through individualised support plans which have been developed collaboratively with wider professionals and parents. If implementation of the assess-plan-do-review cycle indicates that the gap is widening, and the there is a need for more individualised special educational provisions the child may benefit from an Educational, Health and Care needs assessment. These requests should be made to the local authority and should include evidence which demonstrates the child responses to the additional provisions. For PVI settings, this is typically done in agreement with the Area SENDCo. Schools may seek support from services such as Area SENDCo, QEST, EP etc. Funding available to support this includes:
- Free Entitlement,
- Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP),
- Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund (SENIF),
- Disability Access Fund (DAF)
- EHC needs assessment outcomes.