In Warrington there are a range of settings that provide education and learning during your child's early years (ages 0-4). This includes playgroups day nurseries, childminders and private nursery schools, all of which can increase your child’s social skills and enable learning through play.

You are entitled to funded childcare if your child is age 3 or 4, and aged 2 in some cases.

If you need any advice or support about childcare and early years contact the council's Early Years Team by calling 01925 443131. They have specialist workers who support parents, carers and practitioners to make sure early education in Warrington is high quality.

National context

The SEND Code of practice 2015 states: ‘5.59 Local authorities must ensure that all providers delivering funded early education places meet the needs of children with SEN and disabled children. In order to do this local authorities should make sure funding arrangements for early education reflect the need to provide suitable support for these children.

5.60 Early years providers should consider how best to use their resources to support the progress of children with SEN.’

Local context

Warrington has a commitment to the inclusion of children within their local early year’s settings by providing support, guidance and promoting high quality provision. The local offer website ‘Ask Ollie’ provides parents and early year’s providers with information to support.

Support for children aged 0-2 years

Children’s centres

Any child, whether they are accessing an early years setting or not, can use their local children’s centres. Further information on the groups available can be found on My Life Warrington, including contact details and the centre timetables.

Early years SEND support

Early years SEND support (previously Portage) is a home visiting service for children under school age with Special educational needs and disabilities, or a developmental delay. In Warrington, the service can be referred to if the child is not accessing an early year’s setting. They will work in partnership with other professionals including health, to ensure support is in place for the child and their family. Additional to home visits, the service also offers weekly play sessions the family can access at various locations across Warrington.

Early years funding

Children aged 2 to 4 

If a child is not eligible for a funded 2 year placement, then parents would need to pay for their child to access childcare.
Children aged 2 can sometimes access nursery provision through a funded 2 year old nursery place for 15 hours per week. Two year old funded childcare places are available to a limited number of two year old children, from the first day of the new term following their second birthday. To check your eligibility to the 2 year funding, visit warrington.gov.uk/twoyearfunding A child will be entitled to the two year funding if they are in receipt of Disability living allowance (DLA).

Children aged 3 and 4

15 hours early years entitlement

All three and four year olds are entitled to 15 hours early years education, over a minimum of
38 weeks - to a maximum of 570 hours over a year.

30 hours Extended Entitlement for 3 & 4 year olds

The majority of working parents of three and four year olds will be eligible for an additional 15 hours of childcare per week. You may have seen or heard it referred to as 30 hours free childcare. The eligibility criteria can be found on My Life Warrington.

If there is a concern about your child’s development

If you are unsure if your child has a delay in their development, the Foundation Years website has useful guidance and information.
The “what to expect, and when” booklet on this website has been written as a guide for parents, to share what they should expect with their child’s development in the early years.

If your child is not attending an early years setting:

If your child is not attending an early years setting and you have concerns around their development, you may speak to your child’s health visitor. They will be able to support you in accessing other services to support. Please find contact details at the bottom of this document. 

If your child attends an early years setting:

If you have concerns about your child’s development and your child attends an early years setting, you are able to speak to the SENCO (Special educational needs co-ordinator) in the setting. The SENCO is the lead person of the setting where your child attends, who can ensure support is in place for your child. If you prefer though, you may speak to your child’s key person who will seek further advice from the SENCO.

If a child attends an early years setting, they must follow the Graduated Approach, to support children with special educational needs and disability/developmental delay (please see below). Throughout this process they should work in partnership with parents and involve them in their child’s learning. Early years settings will follow this process for all their children, most children will move onto their next outcomes. Some children may need additional support to achieve their goals – this will be identified through the process of the Graduated Approach.

If you child is in a setting you are also able to speak to your child’s health visitor if you would prefer, this may be addition to the setting.

All early years settings should deliver high quality teaching – this is identified in a document called the ‘Graduated approach
descriptor’, settings may also know this as the ‘Ordinarily available’. This documents lists various strategies and documents that they can use to support children within the setting, for each area of a child’s development. Please visit the My Early Years Services website for the full document.

If the early years setting identifies your child may need additional support, they should discuss their concerns and gain information from yourself. From this they will put personal plans in place for your child, this is a document that will have individual targets on for your child.

They should complete this with yourselves and share a copy so that you can also do these at home. This promotes partnership and consistency for the child. The setting will review the personal plans with yourself, so that they can see if the child has met their outcomes, or further support is needed.

Early help assessments

When following the Graduated Approach the setting may offer to complete an early help assessment in partnership with yourself. The purpose of the assessment is to gain information from yourself around your child and family and identify if further support may be needed.

Parent/family views are key throughout this assessment and when completed there will be a team around the family meeting. You will be asked who you would like to attend and it is a chance for everyone to sit down together and look at how they can best support. The setting may also discuss a referral to other services, who may be able to offer support.

Visit our early help section for more information.

Inclusion panel 

Local authorities must ensure that all early years settings delivering funded early education places meet the needs of children with Special Educational Needs, and disabled children (SEND). In order to do this, we need to make sure that funding  arrangements for early education reflect the need to provide suitable support for these children.

An inclusion fund of up to £100,000 is available in 2022-2023. This is to ensure the early inclusion of children with emerging additional SEN across a range of settings. The inclusion funding panel consists of a range of professionals, including Health and the Local Authority. Early years settings are welcome to send a referral into the inclusion panel for the following:

• Early years settings can apply for funding for any child with a developmental delay/SEND, who is accessing the 2, 3 or 4 year early years entitlement. They would need to have followed the Graduated Approach, attach evidence to support why they need the funding and how it will improve outcomes for the child. Funding is not usually awarded for one to one, it may be used for smaller group work, training or resources.
• Early year’s settings are welcome to apply for support from a worker who will come into the child’s setting, observe the child and share strategies to support their development. The professionals who may come and visit include SEND outreach workers, or an Educational Psychologist. 
• For some children it may be clear from an early age they may need additional support, or already have a developmental delay. If so, a health professional will send a Health Notification to the panel. Health services have a duty to provide this information to the local authority, this is to ensure support can be put into place for the child, for example Early years SEND support.

Child development centre (CDC)

A referral can also be made to the Child development centre (CDC) by using an ‘Under 4 complex case referral’, or the
Neurodevelopmental pathway on My Life Warrington. Any professionals working with the child e.g. health visitor, or the early years setting can make the referral, if they have identified a delay and feel the child would benefit from further support.

Two year check

Between the ages of two and three years old, if a child is attending an early year’s setting their key person will review their progress and share the information with parents. This will focus on 3 main areas – Communication and language, physical development and personal, social and emotional development. The two year check can be completed by the early year’s setting, or the child’s Health Visitor. It is good practice for the setting and the Health Visitor to complete this in partnership with each other. 

DAF funding

Three and four year olds will be eligible for the Disability Access Fund (DAF) if they are attending an early years setting that provides the free early education entitlement, and meet a criteria (child is in receipt of Disability living allowance DLA). The Disability access fund of £615 (due to rise to £800 April 2022) is payable as a lump sum once a year, per eligible child. It aids access to early year’s places by supporting providers, in making reasonable adjustments to their settings.

Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP)

Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) is an additional sum of money paid to childcare providers, for 3 and 4 year old children of families in receipt of certain benefits. This funding will be used to enhance the quality of their early years’ experience by improving the teaching, learning, facilities and resources, with the aim of impacting positively on your child’s progress and development.

Transition

Transitions are the big and small changes that take place throughout life. One main transition, which can be an exciting time for both the child and the parent is the transition from an early years setting to primary school. The child will have an opportunity to meet new people and have new experiences. The setting will work in partnership with parents and other professionals, to ensure the transition to school is as smooth as possible. The setting may access training from the Local Authority around this, if they would like further support. 

Sandy Lane specialist nursery provision

Sandy Lane maintained nursery school has specialist provision for children with complex additional needs. Admission to this provision known as the Rainbow room is made via a provision panel, with a variety of professionals similar to the inclusion panel.
Please note if a child is attending the specialist provision for their full early years entitlement and attending another early years setting for additional hours, they will not be able to access the early year’s special educational need and disability inclusion funding.

Support for parents

Warrington parents and carers

WarrPAC are a warm and welcoming group of volunteers, each with lived experience of caring for a child or young person with
disabilities and additional needs.
Website: https://warrpac.org
Facebook: facebook.com/Warrpac
Email: devofficer@warrpac.org
Phone number: 07376 722719

Warrington Play and Sensory Centre

A purpose-built activity centre for disabled children and adults, or those with special educational needs. It has a number of different areas where you can relax or play. The facilities have been planned carefully and are fully accessible to ensure that your time there is as enjoyable as possible.

More information on their webpage.

Warrington SEND Information Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS)

Helps parents, carers and young people with special educational needs in early education settings, schools and colleges.

More information on their webpage.

Appeals and complaints

If a parent has a disagreement on an inclusion panel decision they should speak to their early years setting. If the early years setting does not agree with the outcome, they are able to appeal the decision within 14 working days by email to sendearlyyears@warrington.gov.uk

We would encourage all parents to speak to their child’s early years settings in the first instance and if necessary follow their
complaints policy (all early years providers must have a complaint policy and these should be available for you to request a copy).
 

Further information 

Health visiting teams

East Warrington - Birchwood, Culcheth, Croft, Glazebury, Winwick, Padgate, Woolston

Spencer House, Dewhurst Road, Birchwood, WA3 7PG
Phone: 01925 843868
 

South Warrington - Stockton Heath, Grappenhall, Latchford, Appleton, Fairfield, Howley, Lymm, Orford 

Grappenhall Clinic, Springfield Ave, Grappenhall WA4 2NW
Phone: 01925 867908
 

West Warrington - Penketh, Great Sankey, Dallam, Bewsey, Winwick, Orford

Penketh Clinic, Honiton Way, Penketh WA5 2EY
Phone: 01925 867928