“Even a tiny bit of training on practice-based skills can build confidence on how to work inclusively and it can make such a big difference to the knowledge practitioners have working with Special Educational Needs (SEN) children. We need to build a capacity in the mainstream so that children are not being pushed over into special schools.”

Supporting children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) requires a combination of training and changes in the funding system according to Chief Executive of Dingley’s Promise, Catherine McLeod MBE.

Catherine specialises in additional needs and works trying to make the early years a more inclusive environment. She has concerns over the availability of places for SEN children and the current level of funding that needs to go towards their education.

Consequences of the pandemic

Similarly to other aspects of early education, supporting children with additional needs has been impacted by the pandemic. The financial implications, alongside the pauses in children’s development, are two of the most affected areas.

Children develop through socialising and learning under the guidance of early years professionals. This is even more important for a child with additional needs who might be receiving one-to-one-support. Catherine says she has noticed a change in certain behaviours and some children are receiving later diagnoses.

“There has been a rise in stress-related behaviour in children,” says Catherine.

“We have certainly seen much more extreme behaviour in our settings. There have also been delays in development, particularly speech, language and physical. One other thing is the delay in early identification. We are seeing children getting a later diagnosis of having additional needs which means worse outcomes for them.”

But, for some children, being in the comfort of a family home has been beneficial. Across the past 18 months, settings have been closed or parents working from home has meant that early years services were not required. Parents with autistic children have “actually felt more relaxed,” explained Catherine.

“Some SEN children have coped better without the pressures of going out and interacting with people. I am not saying that is realistic because, in life, you will need to meet people. But, from a well-being point of view, some children learning from home with their families has been beneficial.”

Some children have benefitted from the shift away from their provider. Yet, the long-term effects could be counter-productive. With restrictions now lifted in England, SEN children might be returning to their setting. The time at home is not preparing the child for returning to normality, Catherine Says.

“In the short term, there were some positives. Now we are coming out of the pandemic, all the kids who did well at home are faced with trying to get back to seeing other people which is harder than it was before. So that is no longer a positive. I am not so sure any of the positives experienced during the pandemic will continue afterwards.”

Challenges of supplying SEN places

In England, SEN children can attend special schools or settings in the mainstream. Finding available places can be challenging if settings are not supported financially and early years providers cannot offer a place.

Caring for a child with additional needs takes thorough planning and is more expensive. If a setting is continuously thinking about the cost of taking in a child with SEN, this will then “create a barrier to inclusion,” says Catherine.

“When money is tight, that could be the difference between getting into a setting or not. Settings might start to think that every child with SEN they take in will cost a certain amount of money."

According to Catherine, a solution is to improve the inclusivity of SEN children and mainstream settings. Once children leave their early year's providers they should have the option of a special school or mainstream setting. Without qualified professionals and available places, this is not achievable. Catherine believes this is an area that needs addressing. She said:

"Once you get to primary school, some people complain that there are not enough spaces in special schools. But, I do not believe special school places are the only answer. I know one local authority that is creating more resource units in primary schools. This is so children can still go to mainstream primary school settings and have extra support when they arrive. We have to look at this across the whole early years and primary schools. We need to build a capacity in the mainstream so that children are not being pushed over into special schools. The more inclusion we have, the better."

Funding system alterations

Early years settings usually receive a base rate from the council and additional supplements. These supplements can include SEN inclusion funds or they can be a proportion of the base rate used to fund all children. Some authorities will have a pot of money that providers will try and access to support a child they take in.

Wendy Simpson is a Special Educational Needs Coordinator for an early years setting. She works with SEN children and devises development plans to help provide them with the best start in life. To access extra funding, Wendy says she needs to apply to the council who are also dealing with requests from other providers seeking money.

“We have to be supported financially so that we can support the children educationally,” says Wendy.

“Local governments just do not have enough money. I do get that. Yet, where does that leave us as a society if we cannot support those with additional needs? Whatever money we get is not what it should be. This is the case for any child, not just those with SEND.”

Not every authority is the same. Catherine McLeod says that some do provide the backing required.

“Some authorities are really good in giving substantial amounts of inclusion funding and do not make people feel like they are competing with others. There are some bad experiences and the frustrating thing is that there is no one way to manage it.”

To simplify the process, Catherine would like to see changes to the allocation of funding. Currently, it is common for SEN children to receive the same base rate and get extra money through funds and supplements. If places for children are funded based on their needs, settings could have a better idea of what support they will get.

“What seems more logical is to set different funding rates for different children,” says Catherine.

“So, a standard five pounds an hour for one child, children with moderate needs get eight pounds an hour and high need children 12 pounds an hour. By funding this way, settings know the child has got high needs and they know what financial support they are going to get. It takes away that barrier.”

Training to make supporting SEN children more inclusive

For Catherine, the main solution to the aforementioned problems is training. Early years professionals and headteachers could benefit from further education to help build their confidence working with SEN children. If mainstream settings improve their ability to educate a child with special educational needs, this could increase the number of available places and make the sector more inclusive.

Training could make settings less reluctant to take SEN children, believes Catherine.

“Even a tiny bit of training on practice-based skills can build confidence on how to work inclusively and it can make such a big difference to the knowledge practitioners have to work with SEND children."

“If we did the training better, we would have more children able and better supported to enter the mainstream. Settings then will not be looking for one-to-one adult support for every child with SEN. Costs would come down for settings so training is the key to making the sector more sustainable.”

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