Local SEND support from 3 to 7 years old

This is a guide to local support in Nottinghamshire for children and young people with SEND aged 3 to 7 years.

A guide to local support for children and young people with SEND in Nottinghamshire

Ways to use this guide

This guide explains the SEND services available from education, health and care agencies to help you understand what is available across the system.

Watch a video 6-minute video animation of the SEND map for age 3 to 7 years [YouTube] or continue reading for the full transcript.

You can also download the full interactive guide as a PDF where you can navigate through the links and watch all the animations.

Download the full interactive guide to local support for age 0 to 25 years [PDF]

Support from age 3 to 4 years

At age 3 years, there is an entitlement to 15 or 30 tax-free childcare hours. Some children will also be starting nursery (Foundation 1) at this time.

Learn about applying for free childcare if you're working (GOV.UK)

Support from age 4 to 5 years

Some children may be attending reception (Foundation 2) at around age 4.

In April, there is a national offer day where all the children across the country get their offers for school.

Primary school offer day: Everything you need to know (The Education Hub)

Support from age 5 to 6 years

All children are legally required to have a full-time education that meets their needs – either by attending school or through home educations by the age of 5.

SEND support for schools

All schools receive funding to meet the needs of children with SEND in their school budget. Schools should make reasonable adjustments to include children with SEND in all aspects of school life.

Many children with SEND get the support they need through these processes. However, schools often need extra help to support the children with the most severe and complex needs.

If children are receiving extra help at school to meet their special educational needs, they should:

have a Special Educational Needs (SEN) support plan like an individual education plan (IEP) or provision map
be added to the school’s SEN support register.

Find out more about special educational needs support

Every school has a special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) who is the point of contact for parents and carers with SEND in that school. In the first instance, if parents and carers have questions or concerns about their child's needs, they should raise these with the school, starting with the class teacher.

Ask Us Nottinghamshire also has local information and advice support service for parents and carers with children with SEND.

Find out more on the Ask Us Nottinghamshire website

If the school needs support to meet SEND needs, additional money can be requested. The school SENCO would facilitate this support.

This support is known as Additional Family Needs (AFN) funding. The school can also apply directly to the Local Authority’s High-Level Needs (HLN) panel.

More support through the springboard process can also be provided. This is a process where a multi-agency meeting is held once a term. It provides a forum for SENCOs to seek mutual support and share expertise.

Schools can also access advice and support from through the springboard process with:

Schools are organised into groups of schools called 'families of schools' and each family has a Family SENCO, who coordinates the specialist support and additional funding for that family of schools.

Neurodevelopmental assessment pathway

If there are identified needs, the neurodevelopmental assessment pathway may be followed.

Learn more about the neurodevelopmental assessment pathway (Nottinghamshire County Council)

The educational setting might be asked to fill out a referral form to identify a child or young person’s needs and make a plan of support.

Mental health support

If children have mental health needs, they may access all the local mental health services in one place on the Mental Health Support Services For People In Nottinghamshire (NottAlone)

For high-level or specialist mental health services, support can be assessed through the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) (Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust)

Mental Health Support Teams offer Early intervention in schools: Learn about mental health support in schools and colleges (NHS England)

For some children with the most severe and complex needs, they’ll have an Education Health and Care Plan.

They may also have a personal budget to support things like short breaks. Short breaks enables children and young people with disability to participate in positive activities which promote independence and provide parents or carers a break from caring.

Learn about SEND Local Offer - Short Breaks

They may also get a place in a special school. These schools provide an education for the children with the most complex needs in Nottinghamshire.

Support from age 6 to 7 years

Care-related support

For care-related support, visit your local family hub. They provide weekly activities and support programmes. This may include getting help from a Family Support Worker.

Find your nearest family hub (Nottinghamshire County Council)

Children's Social Care Support - SEND Local Offer

Children’s social care is the provision of social work, personal care, protection or social support services. You can find out about how needs are assessed and the services involved on the SEND Local Offer's social care support page.

Find out about the different levels of children's Social care support (SEND Local Offer)

The Children’s Occupational Therapy Team are a statutory social care service that offers assessments, specialist equipment and adaptations. The service will also be involved in Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) processes.

Find out about services which support children and young people with additional needs (Nottinghamshire County Council)

Children in care (CIC) will have support from the virtual school, which is a team of people who monitor their education. They may have additional pupil premium funding to create opportunities for them from the age of 3 years. This funding is not specific to SEND needs, so children in care may have both SEND specific funding and the pupil premium.

When children with complex health needs are in school, health professionals can train and delegate tasks to school staff such as teaching assistants or personal care assistants.

There is a process under this for:

community nurse links who can give advice and support
community nurse training who can train school staff to do specific healthcare tasks
a ventilated team for children who have ventilation for breathing.