Early Years Improvement Team

Early Years Improvement Team

Inclusion Audit

A tool for settings

Any issues identified should feed into the setting improvement plan.

Inclusive Practice / Yes / Partly / No / Evidence, Comments and Actions
The setting demonstrates an inclusive approach to delivering the EYFS in line with SEND Code of Practice 2015 and demonstrates a positive approach to receiving children with additional needs which includes following the graduated approach for SEN support.
- How do your admission and settling-in procedures reflect your inclusive approach?
- How do you welcome, value and include all families?
- What strategies do you employ to demonstrate a proactive approach to identifying and removing barriers?
- Are parents and children’s views gathered and acted upon?
The setting has experience in supporting children with a range of additional needs and plans appropriate differentiation and support for individual children.
- Have you experience of supporting children with a range of additional needs?
- What evidence do you have to show appropriate differentiated and personalised support? E.g. Education Health Care (EHC) plan, action planning and target setting, differentiated planning highlighting target children, visual prompts in the environment and provision mapping.
Leadership and management / Yes / Partly / No / Evidence, Comments and Actions
The setting effectively identifies children who require additional arrangements to be made and refers to the NCC Early Years descriptors.
- What do you use to support effective identification of children with additional needs?
- Are you aware of the local offer and how to access local information?
-Is your setting on the local offer?
- Are there robust systems to support early identification?
The Special Education Needs Co-ordinator/Inclusion Co-ordinator (SENCo/INCo) and staff have ownership of the SEND policy, which has clear, parent friendly descriptions of the setting’s SEND process.
-Are all your policies for SEND and Inclusion in line with SEND CoP 2015?
- Is the policy easily read and understood by parents/carers?
- How do you ensure that key documents are easily accessible to all parents? E.g. those with EAL/literacy and other vulnerable groups. Evidence of Key Person system, translated documents and visual aids etc.
The setting takes responsibility for staff CPD and trains new staff within the induction process to understand their obligations and processes with regard to SEND. Staff turnover is planned so it does not interrupt provision for a child with additional needs and/or SEND support.
-What evidence do you have of this? E.g. training matrix, evidence of staff meetings, in-house training, attendance at Inclusion Network meetings, coaching and mentoring, NIMP Association, setting to setting support.
- Has EHA training been accessed?
- Do the leadership team ensure that systems are in place to ensure that new and existing staff understand their obligations and processes?
- How do you minimise interruptions to children’s provision in the event of staff changes?
The setting retains knowledge from training, independently transfers it between staff and generalises it to other children.
- Are your staff confident and knowledgeable and ensure that both practice and provision meets the needs of children with additional needs?
- What evidence is there that staff can transfer knowledge and skills in supporting a child with
additional needs to subsequent children with similar needs?
Robust observation and identification processes for children with SEND are apparent throughout the setting and all staff aware of the graduated approach. Staff are sensitive to parent’s readiness to discuss their child’s needs.
- How do you ensure that observation and identification processes for children with SEND are robust and consistent across the setting?
- What evidence do you have to support this?
- Are staff sensitive to the needs of parents and prepared to tackle difficult conversations?
Management are proactively committed to meeting the needs of all children in their setting and supporting their SENCo/INCo. Is time planned for the SENCo to do the role?
-Consider recruitment and induction processes to ensure that there is a commitment to inclusion.
- How do you maintain a commitment to inclusion which is shared by all staff?
The Management team demonstrates a positive attitude and approach to making reasonable adjustments, as per Equality Act 2010. They understand their anticipatory duty to be ready and prepared to meet the needs of all children.
- How do you keep updated with local information regarding multi-agency professionals and other settings?
- What evidence do you have of preparations prior to a child starting at the setting? E.g. admission meetings, risk assessments and transition documents.
- How is the setting prepared to welcome and explore ways of meeting children’s needs?
- How do you ensure that all staff know how to respond appropriately within the legal requirements?
Knowledge of current processes and eligibility criteria is evident.
The setting can independently make a request for involvement to a range of outside agencies as needed. These may include; Health Visitor, Speech And Language Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Specialist Support Service, General Practitioners, Virtual School, Sensory Impairment Service and Physiotherapy.
- Are you aware of the processes to request involvement from a range of agencies, including High Needs Panel, Specialist Support Service Panel meeting and NHS Referral Management Centre?
- What evidence do you have of multi-agency working?
- Is there evidence that staff are familiar and using the Northamptonshire’s SEN descriptors?
- Are staff familiar with the local offer and how to access resources and professionals at the appropriate level?
The leadership team is effectively using funding e.g. Notional SEN, SEN supplement
(formerly known as SEN Premium), High Needs Funding, Disability Access Funding (DAF) and EYPP (Early Years Pupil Premium) and measure its impact on diminishing the differences in children’s outcomes.
- How do you ensure that all eligible children are identified?
- How does the setting promote EYPP to parents/carers?
- Are you aware of your indicative budget that identifies the notional SEN?
- How do you monitor the impact of interventions and the spend e.g. through provision mapping and cohort tracking of vulnerable groups?
Role of SENCo/INCo / Yes / Partly / No / Evidence, Comments and Actions
The setting has an experienced and confident Level 3 SENCo/INCo, carrying out the role effectively, and has attended further training and professional development.
- The SENCo/INCo has attended Qualifying SENCo/INCo training within the last three years or the update training for those who are more experienced.
- Does the setting have an Enhanced skilled SENCo/INCo?
- Is the setting involved in any mentoring partnerships such as NIMP?
- Has the setting gained the Portage Stamp Approval?
The SENCo/INCo attends regular training and shares/develops knowledge.
- Is there evidence of recent training attended by the SENCo/INCo?
- How confident is the SENCo/INCo to disseminate key messages and facilitate in-house training?
SENCo/INCo has a clear idea of the indicators that a child may need additional help and practitioners have good knowledge of child development and recognise whether a child is showing a typical level of development for their age and/or making sufficient progress.
- How do you ensure all practitioners are making best fit judgements of whether the child is developing typically for their age and making sufficient progress?
- How confident are staff in using key documentation? E.g. Progress Check at age two, Portage Developmental Profile, individual progress tracker, observations and assessments
Good quality interventions take place as described in the Northamptonshire Descriptors i.e. additional support, specific individual support and High Needs request as appropriate. Setting documents show evidence of the graduated approach.
- What documentation do you have to support the graduated approach?
- What evidence do you have of adaptations to provision?
- How confident is the SENCo/INCo in using the Northamptonshire’s SEN descriptors?
- How confident is the SENCo/INCo in supporting staff with all of the above?
The SENCo/INCo can make a request for involvement with appropriate and relevant documentation of additional support to evidence an application.
- Have you any evidence of successful requests for involvement from a range of agencies?
- Does your documentation identify clearly the levels of need to support applications? E.g. quality observations, tracking, action planning and target setting, specific observations – ABCs and/or additional assessments.
The SENCo/INCo is familiar with the Northamptonshire SEN descriptors, Education Health Care plans (EHC) and High Needs Panel processes.
- The SENCo/INCo is familiar with processes and documentation which include One page profile, Portage Developmental Profile and Provision Mapping.
The SENCo/INCo can independently lead, write and implement: / Yes / Partly / No / Evidence, Comments and Actions
Pre-admission meetings are routinely held and transition arrangements made.
Risk assessments.
Individual Care Plans.
Action planning and target setting.
PEEPS (Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan).
e-PEPs (Personal Education Plan for Children in Care (CiC) Children that are Looked After (CLA).
Seeking information and support from relevant agencies.
Writes minutes and record reviews.
One page profiles.
Provision mapping.
Supports staff with identification of SEND and planning arrangements for individual children.
Organises identified training linked to specific needs and may use outside agencies independently for support and training.
Plans and writes effective high quality written reviews with appropriate evidence.
Ensures all staff are aware of the content of a child’s action plan and individual targets understanding how to support the child’s learning during the day.
Co-ordinates work for the child and supports the confidence of all staff in meeting the child’s needs.
Ensures action planning and work on targets is consistently carried out and all outcomes are recorded.
Ensures action plans and targets reflect the child’s strengths, motivations and interests and these are actively built on. Parents and children’s views taken into account.
Monitors to ensure that provision/arrangements are of a high quality.
Monitors the progress of children from their starting points based on small step targets and personalised planning.
Partnership with parents/families / Yes / Partly / No / Evidence, Comments and Actions
The setting works to build a good relationship with all families and there is a two-way flow of information regarding children’s learning and development between setting and home.
-What systems are in place for information sharing? E.g. home/setting communication books, home observations, parent consultations, electronic learning journeys, texts/emails, Progress summaries, Progress Check at age two
- What evidence do you have of on entry arrangements? E.g. Admission policy, Key Person system, Home visits, Settling-in procedures, All about Me forms, use of ‘What to expect when’ document and One Page Profiles.
Parents are fully included in the graduated approach. Reviews and meetings are parent centred and at times convenient to them.
- How do you ensure that meetings are parent centred and parents feel fully included and involved in action planning and target setting meetings/reviews?
- What evidence do you gather? E.g. documents signed by parents, agendas and minutes, SENCo/INCo file.
Voice of the child / Yes / Partly / No / Evidence, Comments and Actions
The child’s voice is listened to and views taken into account. Page 8 of the SEND code of Practice, 2015. (1.1)
- What systems do you have to ensure that the child’s voice is heard and acted upon?
- How do you ensure that the child’s views are listened to and taken into account? E.g. observation, assessment and planning embedded into practice, displays, action plans and target setting, reviews, learning journeys, One page profile, on entry information.
- How do you ensure that children who are non-verbal are listened to?
- How is information regarding children’s interests, learning and development gathered on entry and throughout the process?
Additional information:
Where can you find information and support?
· The weekly bulletin for Early Years Settings and Providers
· Your local Inclusion Network meetings
· The Early Years Improvement Team (Your Setting Improvement Contact)
· Local networks e.g. Northamptonshire Inclusion Mentoring Partnership (NIMP)
Many resources can be found on the Early Years website:
www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/eyfs
and the SEND webpage:
http://www3.northamptonshire.gov.uk/councilservices/children-families-education/early-years/information-for-childcare-providers/the-early-years-curriculum/Pages/special-education-needs-and-inclusion-in-the-early-years-foundation-stage.aspx