Blackpool Early Years SEND inclusion fund

All children are entitled to an education that enables them to achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes, and become confident young children with a growing ability to communicate their own views and ready to make the transition into compulsory education.

Early Years providers must have arrangements in place to support children with SEN or disabilities. These arrangements should include a clear approach to identifying and responding to children with Special Educational Needs (SEN).

The SEN Inclusion fund is available to assist the settings to ensure the inclusion of children with additional needs in early education /childcare.

“Additional needs” includes a physical, sensory or learning disability, difficulties in areas such as communication, attention or behaviour and learning difficulties resulting in global developmental delay.

The funding is awarded for children in Early Years provision who have been assessed as having a significant delay in one or more Prime Areas of learning and whose needs are being monitored through the SEND graduated approach. For these children, it is likely that they are being supported by one or more health or educational professionals

The Inclusion Fund is intended to support settings with additional resources where, for example:

• the setting SENCO may have to attend meetings, liaise with outside professionals and write additional reports which take them away from his/her normal duties
• there may be more than the usual number of children with additional needs in the setting
• a setting may need to buy equipment to meet the specific needs within the group, which are different from or additional to general resources. We cannot fund resources that should be part of everyday provision through this grant.
• for children who are newly accessing their Early Years provision and require time-limited support during the early stages to ensure a smooth transition into the setting

All applications must be submitted by the setting following the prescribed processes and agreement and support of the Early Years SEND Advisory Teacher or Educational Psychologist. Applications are made using the Early Years Inclusion Funding application form and  need to be submitted by the last working day of the month for consideration the following month.