Early Years Inclusion Funding Information

Most children with emerging SEN will have their needs met by the funding ordinarily available in settings. Early years providers will be expected to show and evidence inclusive practice as part of their universal offer (ordinarily available provision) for all children (including those with SEND) and use the full range of existing resources in their support arrangements.

All settings are expected to make provision for children with SEN from core funding received for 2-3- and 4-year-olds.

Although we are aware of the challenges faced in early years settings, when additional support is needed for individual children that is over and above what you would normally provide, there remains a duty to providing inclusive practice for all children (including those with SEND)

Some children may need additional funding to provide targeted short-term interventions to support their learning and development.

For other  children it is likely that they will need additional funding for a longer period of time due to their SEND needs. They might need educational provision that is additional to and different from that typically provided by mainstream settings and schools. Additionally, an Education, Health, Care (EHC) Needs Assessment may be required. Early Years Inclusion Support Funding is additional funding that supports the access and inclusion of children with SEND living in Bury, whether a diagnosis has been made or not.

Bury have adopted a three-tiered approach to funding and thinking about children’s needs. The figure below illustrates the different stages of support available and the corresponding funding bands.

Funding Band A is specifically intended to support children/ groups of three or more children with identified special educational needs who have not made progress despite targeted input of SEND support. It should be used to provide additional support in order to promote continued progress and early intervention

Funding Bands B and C are expected to support children with high level and complex needs         

• Funding should be used to provide additional support in order to promote continued progress and to enable children aged 2 years and over with SEND to achieve better educational outcomes
• It can allow an early years provider to make adaptations to the learning environment such as increasing their staffing ratios in order to increase the capacity of the child’s key person or, in some cases and where appropriate, to purchase other services or resources
• It is expected that providers will have used the resources that are routinely available to maximise the support for individual children before applying for Inclusion Support Funding
• The allocation of Inclusion Support Funding will be monitored and audited to ensure that it is being used appropriately