Guidance to using additional funding
SEND Inclusion Funding is provided to early years settings to support them meet the needs of children with significant special education needs. Please see the information on the Local Offer for more details about the criteria for the funding and how to apply.
When additional funding is received by the setting, it should be used to the best effect. Below are some suggestions on the effective use of funding:
- funding can be used for additional adult support for a child individually or within a small group of children depending on the need. It should not be used for resources or staff training
- additional support should focus on the specific area of need and be used to provide teaching and interventions to accelerate progress in the area of need.
- although ensuring the safety of the child and the other children in the nursery is important, additional funding should not be solely used to supervise a child
- the relationship between the child and the adult providing the support is important and time is needed for this to develop
- adults providing additional support should ensure that the child does not become dependent on the support
- the aim for the child to move towards independence so adult support needs to concentrate on providing the minimum amount of support needed for the child to succeed
- there should be short daily teaching sessions that concentrate on the child's individual targets on their support plan alongside support in groups to support the child to use their skills within the setting
- the learning hierarchy could be used to support the teaching of new skills and applying them in the setting with other children.