Child Development Centre

Child Development Centre – Admission and Allocation Policy

This policy is relevant to all of Cornwall’s CDC and Outreach support. It is to be read alongside the CDC Local Offer for Cornwall which can be found onthe Family Information Service website

Cornwall’s Child Development Centres (CDCs) are a Local Authority area resource, for preschool children experiencing significant difficulties with aspects of their development. The aim of CDCs is to support multi agency assessment, inclusion and engagement of children into Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) teaching and learning opportunities. They aim to provide support for parents/carers and EYFS providers in how best to teach and meet the individual needs of the children[CL1].

We offer in reach CDC placements at Liskeard, St Columb Major, Truro and Gulval. this is where a child comes to the centre for two or three sessions per week. Within the centre they will access Early Years Foundation Stage learning and teaching activities within a classroom environment. The staff will liaise and work with the child’s parents, link setting and supporting professionals to ensure everyone supports in the same way. If the child accesses an in reach placement they will transfer to the CDC Speech and Language Therapist. In reach placements will be for a minimum of two terms with a review.

In North Cornwall we offer an outreach model where the CDC teacher supports a child within their community pre-school/ nursery provision. The Lead Teacher will liaise with the referrer to define the type and level of support needed and develop a programme. Outreach will be for one term with a review, there will be different levels of support depending on what is requested and the needs of the child. This may involve a home programme. Within the outreach model the child will stay with their community complex needs Speech and Language Therapist to ensure continuity. The Lead Teacher will work with parents and the team around the child to ensure consistent support.

Criteria

Although referrals may be made prior to a child’s 3rd birthday; children shall not normally be allocated support from the Child Development Centre Team, before they are 3 years old. (From their 3rd birthday in line with our Ofsted registration)Transitional work can start the half term prior to the child receiving support from a CDC e.g. home visits, information gathering, drop in visits. Children shall be pre-school age at the point of receiving support from any Child Development Centre Children will notusually be considered for direct session attendance in the last term before they start school[CL2].

In exceptional cases, a placement may be allocated where a child may be at risk of exclusion from school or a deferred/ delayed entry to school is being planned. This will be at the discretion of the panel, based on evidence received that this would be the best solution for the child and only if spaces were available. Such a placement would be for transitional support between the CDC and School for a child of school age. This would be a shorter term bespoke placement and be focussed on a successful transition to school.

A child should only be referred to the Child Development Centre:

a)If his/her SEND are long term, severe and complex, and

b)In most circumstances where they have a significant speech, language and communication difficulty and one other significant educational need which impacts so that the child is not participating in EYFS or progressing with learning in their local setting, and

c)a child is not making adequate progress in their mainstream setting and would benefit from a more detailed assessment of need and specific intervention

And d) if parents are in agreement.

Children who already have an Education, Health and Care Plan will be considered if they are not already attending a setting or specialist support is needed to ensure their plan is fully implemented.

Children meeting these criteria will be considered by the Allocation Panel as to whether direct session attendance or outreach is appropriate based on the individual child and family.

Children will be prioritised based on a range of factors including:

  • age and school entry
  • current multi-agency assessment needs
  • quality of access to local provisions
  • other significant factors or vulnerabilityidentified by the referrer e.g. a child in care.

Any children not allocated support but who may still meet the criteria will be put forward to future panel meetings.

Requests for CDC places – (See Appendix 1, Route for requesting CDC input)

All requests should be sent to the Head Teacher of Truro CDC, C/O Mrs Lynn Cadwallader (Administrator) Dolphin House, RCH Treliske, Truro Cornwall, TR1 3LJ or via email to . Requests should be made by completing the relevant form which is available online or from any of the CDCs. The request for involvement form is included in Appendix 2. The referral and supporting reports and evidence should be received for consideration at panel at least two weeks before the panel date. Panel dates can be found on the FIS website (link above) Any reports received after this time will not be included and if there is insufficient evidence the child will be referred to the next panel.

Any referred children should be known to the Early Years Inclusion Service or Portage prior to the request for CDC being made, although there may be individual cases where this is not the case e.g. new children to the area, children who are not in a setting. Children being considered for a CDC placement will be identified through the graduated process where cycles of plan, do and review have made limited impact, they will usually, unless parents have opted out, be engaged with Early Support and the team around the child will have considered CDC as a next step. The child and family may also be receiving support through the Early HelpService.

Requests should be accompanied by:

  • SALT goals and report dated within the last 6 months
  • Report from the SLS including:
  • description of the child’s needs
  • interventions already implemented with impact
  • child’s rate of progress and tracked progress over time
  • clear outline of the reasons why a CDC place is thought to be appropriate with outcomes from the placement clearly described
  • information gathering reports from ASDSC workers, if applicable
  • Portage reports and information
  • Evidence of plan, do and review from the Early Years setting/s including specific targets, reasonable adjustments and progress across at least a six month period against previous targets Early Years Foundation Stage tracking of levels of development through development matters or learning journal observations, ECAT, Early Support Developmental journal
  • 2 year old assessment report from the child’s health visitor (if available)
  • Details of the training the pre-school has received in order to support the needs of the child e.g., Visuals training, Emotional Warmth training, when they had this training and the impact this has had

Requests for an Outreach placement to setting should also include:

  • Details of the EY setting SENCo and child’s key worker
  • If the setting is in receipt of an Access to Learning Grant and what they are using it for
  • Details of the sessions the child attends

Without sufficient information which demonstrates the child’s level of need, a decision cannot be made. This is particularly needed for planning interventions and if an EHC Assessment is requested at start of placement.

Following consultation with parents a request for CDC involvement can be made by the following professionals:

a)Setting SENCo

b)Community Paediatrician

c)Speech and Language Therapist

d)Senior Locality SENCo

e)Health Visitor

f)Portage Worker

g)Occupational Therapist

h)Physiotherapist

It is important that the Early Support, team around the child have planned for and discussed the involvement of the CDC prior to referral. The request should highlight the professionals and parents expected outcome of CDC involvement[CL3].

Parents and carers are welcomed and encouraged to look around a centre prior to the request being made, and should contact the centre directly. If they would like to discuss Outreach support then they are able to contact Dilys Vincent, Head teacher, to further discuss examples of how support could work for their child. However, if a place is thought to be appropriate it will be allocated based on the child’s home address, current capacity of the CDCs and travel distance from home. Parents/carers preference of centres will be considered when allocating placements but cannot be guaranteed. We will also prioritise those children who are due to start school in the next academic year.

Where parents are not happy with an outcome then cases can be brought back to the next allocation panel and reconsidered. In exceptional circumstances if the next panel meeting is more than 10 weeks in the future (due to e.g. a summer holiday) and it would be in a child’s best interest an extraordinary meeting will be held to discuss any appeals. This will be made up of a Paediatrician, specialist Speech and language therapist and Senior Locality SENCo who will consider the appeal and further evidence provided.

Early Years CDC Allocation Panel

All requests will be considered by a single multi agency panel who will meet half termly. This will include;

a)Head teacher in charge of Truro CDC who will act as chair.

b)Teacher in charge of relevant CDCs

c)Consultant Community Paediatrician or Deputy.

d)Early Years Senior Locality SENCo

e)Portage manager

f)Speech and Language Therapist.

g)LA representative; deputy manager from the assessment and provision team.

A quorum number of 4 people should be present.

The allocation panel will identify children who meet the criteria for CDC attendance and prioritise according to need and age. Parents will receive a letter from the chair of the panel outlining the decision including the maximum period of involvement. This will be copied to the professional who made the request and other relevant professionals. A hand book / guide for parents about the CDC their child has been allocated will also be sent out at this stage unless previously given.

The allocation panel will highlight the intended purpose and objective of CDC involvement. The individual CDC’s will be responsible for providing an outcome measure at the end of their involvement. (see transition).

Transport will be considered in accordance with the county policy. This may include some parents being paid travel expenses to bring their child themselves and this is preferable for many young children.

Children who in accordance with the LA policy for deferred/delayed school start, will be considered for places or extension to provision on a case by case basis by the allocation panel and in line with OfSted criteria[CL4].

If you would like this information in another format or language

please contact:

Cornwall Council

County Hall

Treyew Road

Truro TR1 3AY

or telephone: 0300 1234 100

or email:

Internal use only:

This policy was adopted on: / 12th January 2017
Signed on behalf of the nursery: / Dilys Vincent
Date disseminated to staff: / 12th January 2017
Date for review: / September 2017

Appendix 1

Route for requesting CDC input

A CDC placement should be where possible planned as part of the graduated process. The Portage Service, Early Years Inclusion Service will support and advise around timing of referrals to ensure children’s needs are identified and supported appropriately.

[CL5]

Appendix 2

Application for placement at the CDC

Application for support from Child Development Centre

1. Details of child and family

Child’s name: / Date of Birth:
Parent/Carer names(Please indicate legal parental responsibility details)
Address: / Parental address (if different)
Postcode: / Telephone number:
GP and Surgery: / Religion or belief (if any):
First Language:

2. Details of child’s current educational setting

Current setting (if applicable): / Sessions the child attends (days and times[KC6]):
Name of setting SENCo: / Name of child’s Keyworker:
Address: / Has any additional funding been agreed for this child E.g. Pupil premium, 2 year funding, access to learning etc. Please give details.
Postcode: / Telephone number:
Email address:

3. Details of placement being requested: Please tick as appropriate

Truro / St. Columb / Gulval / Liskeard / North Cornwall Outreach
Name of person making referral: / Contact details of person making referral:

4. Details of current family support: Please tick as appropriate

Early Support / Child in Care / Child in Need / Child Protection Plan
Name of Lead Professional: / Contact details of Lead Professional:

5. Details of Parent/Carer views:

6. Please describe the child’s medical needs:

7. Professionals supporting child; Please insert or delete rows as required.

Please attach any reports from relevant professionals to support request for placement. Please note these should show progress towards interventions to date over at least a six month period.

Name of service / Named professional / Contact details including email and tel. no. / Tick if report enclosed
Educational Psychology
Speech and Language
Paediatrician
Occupational Therapist
Physiotherapist
Dietician
Portage
HI/VI Support
EYIS
Other

8. Information from educational setting:

Pre-school Information / Tick if enclosed
2 year check
Developmental Journal
EYFS tracking
Learning Journal Observations
Assess, Plan, Do and Review
Provision Map
Other (Please specify)

9. Please describe what is working well for[KC7] the child at present:

Are there times where child is more settled? Are there areas inside or outside that support self- regulation? Has a change in session time made a difference? Has a medical intervention made a positive impact? e.g. Since having grommets child is understanding and talking more.
What reasonable adjustments have you made as required by the Equalities Act 2010 / What impact has this had on the child’s ability to make progress?

10. Please describe specific needs or barriers to learning the child currently experiences:

Area of need / Tick / What does this look like for the child[KC8]? Please state the stage of development the child is at using the relevant progress monitoring system e.g. Development Matters, please state what progress has been made in this aspect of development and please state what barriers, there are that are limiting the child’s development that cannot be addressed through the adjustments highlighted in the previous section. / What outcomes for the child would you anticipate achieving from CDC involvement?
Communication and Interaction
Cognition and Learning
Social, Emotional and Mental Health
Sensory or Physical needs

11. Is there any further information to share in support of this referral?

Data StatementWe are part of Cornwall Council’s CSF Services. We record details of our assessments and we record details of the recommendations and actions that we suggest should be taken to support the child. Our reports are copied to parents. The information we collect helps us to track the child’s progress over a period of time. We will share the information, with parents and other professionals through copying reports, verbal liaison and at data sharing meetings. We store the information we hold securely in the Educational Psychology filing system. We will store the information on the county central computer system

The following written parental consent will be required if the child is not known to the Early Years Inclusion Service:

Consent parent/person with parental responsibility for information recording/sharing
Signed: / Date:
Name: (Please Print)

Checklist for completion of application for CDC placement

Is the child known to the Early Years Inclusion Service and Speech and Language Therapy Team or is the child receiving Portage or is not in a setting?
Have you consulted with the Team around the Child with regards this application?
Are the child’s details and contact numbers up to date?
Have you completed all areas of the application thoroughly?
Have you provided evidence of plan, do, review cycles to date?
Have you provided information about developmental levels over time?
Have you included supporting reports that show intervention and progress over time?
Have you obtained a parent point of view and signature?

If you can answer yes to all of the above please send the completed application with the supporting evidence (at least two weeks prior to allocation panel date) to:

Dilys Vincent (Allocation Panel Chair)

C/O Mrs L Cadwallader (Administrator)

Truro CDC, Dolphin House,

RCH Treliske,

Truro,

TR1 3LJ.

If you would like this information in another format or language

please contact:

Cornwall Council

County Hall

Treyew Road

Truro TR1 3AY

or telephone: 0300 1234 100

or email:

www.cornwall.gov.uk

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[CL1]Would it be useful here to put a definition of in reach and outreach?

[CL2]We may have to consider taking children younger if their EHCPs are to be completed in time for special school admission. What is the best forum for discussing this and making a decision? Would the EHCP’s not be supported through Portage or the setting supported by SLS for the 2 year olds as the ones who are definite SS children would be flagged early, these should come up at MAISEY to enable planning. I raised the issue of complex needs with Maggie at Allocation but I am at a strategic meeting about EHC’s on 14th I believe Mandy Owen is also on the list to attend, I will raise it there.

[CL3]Does this mean you get lengthy tac plans included or is it a question on the referral form? No it is to encourage a planned approach to CDC placement through the TAC approach as this is what we use for EHC requests. We currently get referrals where it was a last minute discussion and rushed application or the list of professionals is not completed. the two parts are requested on the referral – professionals supporting and reason for support