Children with additional needs

Some children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) may be diagnosed with a medical condition from birth. But a child does not need a diagnosis to have SEND. 

Having a child with SEND could mean your child has: 

• difficulties with communication
• difficulties with learning and understanding
• impaired sensory development
• behavioural difficulties
• difficulties relating to other people
• difficulties concentrating
• physical needs or impairments  

If you think your child may have special educational needs or a disability: 

• speak to your health visitor, or
• get help from the Community Children's Health Partnership (CCHP), or
• Specialist Health Advisors for SEND – Children and Young People's Services 

If health professionals think your child has SEND, they may refer them to specialists for support. This might include educational psychologists or speech and language therapists.  

Here, we support our Early Years colleagues with SEND via MAISEY. Our portage service may be able to help you and your child learn how to play and learn together. 

Further information on support in the early years can be found on the Contact a Family website. 

Children from the age of nine months may be able to access 30 hours of funded childcare. 

Every early year's childcare provider must support children with SEND. They must have arrangements in place to support children.

Children may be eligible for top-up-funding, which is additional funding on top of government funding. 

Please talk to your childcare setting about the support that can be put in place.

The transition into school can be difficult for all children, but especially those children with SEND. 

We can provide support for children transitioning from early years settings to schools through MAISY, which plans early identification of need until school entry, ensuring where possible that transfers to pre-school to school are successful for every child.

If you feel that your child would benefit from this, talk to your childcare provider about a referral. 

Our SEND Hub has lots of useful information about special educational needs and disabilities, and explains what support is available in North Somerset.