Early Years SENDCo and the Early Years SEND Practitioner Service
The Early Years Area SENDCo coordinates the support provided by the Early Years SEND Practitioners, who were previously known as and sometimes still referred to as Portage. The team support children who have a significant delay in two or more areas of their development, from birth to school age. For more information please click below
Referrals are made to the Early Years SEND panel, which is chaired by the Early Years Area SENDCo, representatives from Specialist Speech and Language Therapy, Paediatric Physiotherapy and Health Visitor, agree outcomes of the referrals. This could mean a practitioner is allocated to support a family, access to Early Years funding or other support is offered via the panel members. It allows for a co-ordinated approach to ensuring support is given to enable the needs of the child to be met.
The Early Years SEND Practitioners offer support with home visits, individual teaching programmes, family Portage Groups, through early identification and assessment of children with special needs. Support is based on the principle that parents/carers are the key figures in the care and development of their child.
Practitioners provide support and advice to settings and childminders on suitable resources, support with curriculum activities to promote inclusive practice. They can also advise on applying for support such as the Disability Access Funding (DAF) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
They offer key working which helps parents become more actively involved in making decisions and helps to coordinate the services around their child.
The team are part of the multidisciplinary holistic assessment, Schedule of Growing Skills (SOGS) which is facilitated in partnership with colleagues from physiotherapy, speech, and language.
Practitioners plan the education pathways and can offer support to providers/parents regarding referral to initiate referral planning meetings (RPM’S) that are the beginning of the Education, Health, and Care needs assessment Plan (EHCP) process. Transition support is facilitated in both mainstream and specialist provision.
To access the Early Years Practitioners, SENDCO’s should complete a Family Hubs Referral form
and submit the completed paperwork to Familyhubs@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk
To contact the Early Years Area SENDCo email jane.todd@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk or tracy.waldegrave@redcar-cleveland.gov.uk