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The SEND Code of Practice 2015 states in it’s Early Years chapter that “Where a health body (medical professional) is of the opinion that a young child under compulsory school age has, or probably has, SEN, they must inform the child’s parents and bring the child to the attention of the appropriate local authority.
The health body must also give the parents the opportunity to discuss their opinion and let them know about any voluntary organisations that are likely to be able to provide advice or assistance. This includes the educational advice, guidance and any intervention to be put in place at an early point and before the child starts school. (5.15)
This support can take a number of forms, including:
• specialist support from health visitors, educational psychologists, speech and language therapists or specialist teachers, such as a teacher of the deaf or vision impaired. These specialists may visit families at home to provide practical support, answering questions and clarifying needs
• training for parents in using early learning programmes to promote play, communication and language development
• home-based programmes, such as Portage, which offer a carefully structured system to help parents support their child’s early learning and development” (5.16)
In West Sussex, medical (and other) professionals can fulfil their duty to point 5.15 by making a referral to the SEND Under 5.
More information can be found on the Local Offer SEND Under 5 page however, here are some questions we frequently get asked:
As mentioned above, parent carers must be informed that a referral is being considered. The duty is on the health body to make the LA aware of a child’s SEN (or potential SEN) and therefore does not strictly need your permission before doing so. However, we would expect discussions to be held, especially where there is a difference of opinion, and these to be noted and addressed where possible, before the referral is submitted.
Parents will receive correspondence from SEND under 5 once the application is processed.
Your child’s early years setting, or the professional working most closely with your child, will share updates about your child’s progress with the SEND Under 5 Team. These updates will also include your views as a parent or carer.
Once your child has been discussed at SEND Under 5, you will be told the outcome by the setting or professional working with your child. A letter explaining the next steps will be sent to your child’s setting, and they will share this with you. If your child is not in a setting, the outcome letter will be emailed directly to the parent or carer recorded on the referral.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s referral to SEND Under 5, email sendunderfives@westsussex.gov.uk.
Unfortunately, this process is for professional referrals only. However, if you have a concern about your child, speak to a professional (such as medical, portage, or early years setting) yourself, and they may agree to make a referral themselves.
Referrals should be made to: SENDunderfives@westsussex.gov.uk
No, it isn’t.
SEND Under 5 discussions do not make decisions on whether a child is agreed for an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). These decisions are the responsibility of our SENAT team.
The aim of SEND under 5 is to identify and provide support to children under 5 with SEND and their families, to improve their outcomes and identify the support they will need throughout their early years and into school.
The process and possible recommended outcomes of the SEND under 5 support are:
- reviewing and gathering evidence to inform next steps, which may include a decision to move to formal, EHC needs assessment.
- information about local services
- referral to Portage
- support to access early years and childcare provision
- support for early years and childcare providers
- transition support for children moving to a new setting or school
Ideally, if it is working well, the SEND Under 5 process will identify any children, in a timely way, who may need more support at school than would be reasonably expected to be given through the normal resources. Schools are expected to provide high standards of teaching and support, including those with SEN. If a child is likely to need a higher level of support when they start school, then we would expect the SEND Under 5 process to have identified them in time, so that the process can be completed ready for their starting school.
However, if you feel that the process is not working for your situation, you do have the right to make a parental request for the local authority (“LA”) to undertake an EHC needs assessment (which is the process to determine whether an EHCP is needed).
Please see our EHC Needs Assessment and SEN Support pages for more information on this.
Below is our factsheet: