SEND and inclusion - early years

Early years funding and referral pathways

Early years settings can also apply for SEN Inclusion Funding (SENIF) for children in their care, that can be used to enhance the setting and support them in developing staff skills, including strategies that can support individual children's needs and learning.

This additional support is used to enhance the ordinarily available resources in place within the setting. The setting must evidence how best they plan to use their resources to support the progress of children they have applied for. Any additional support awarded is intended to enable early years settings to meet the needs of children with additional or special educational needs and disability, keeping within the principles of the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice.

Who is eligible to access SENIF

1. All 2-year olds and 3- and 4- year olds identified with a level of special educational needs and/or disability (SEND)
2. Under 2-year olds identified with a high level of need.
3. A child that attends an early year’s provider in the London Borough of Ealing that is Ofsted registered and providing government funded places. (regardless of child’s residency)
4. A child presenting with a level of special educational need as defined under one or more of the broad areas of need outlined in the SEND Code of Practice 0 – 25 years communication and interaction / cognition and learning / social, emotional and mental health needs / sensory and/or physical needs)
5. Children in Ealing settings who do not have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan

No eligibility criteria can fully cover all individual circumstances. A request for SEN Inclusion Funding may be considered on the grounds of exceptional circumstances.

Who is not eligible to access SENIF

1. A child who is resident in Ealing and attending an out of borough provision (the SEN Inclusion Fund can be accessed by the Provider in that Borough)
2. A child that is attending an Early Year’s Specialist provision.
3. A child who is in receipt of Child In Need Funding (support visits may be awarded)
4. A child that has an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP).
5. A 4 year old’s in maintained, academy, free school or primary school in reception classes When it is deemed that high-quality universal teaching, strategies have not been part of the child’s everyday strategies and interventions.

Funding allocated through SENIF must be used as outlined in the providers application and clearly detailed on the Provision Map.

It is essential to monitor children’s progress (EYFS Statutory Framework and the DfE SEND Code of Practice 2014). Providers should use the graduated approach to meet a child’s needs. Further support can be found on Ealing's SEND Local Offer.

SEND toolkit

Access the SEND toolkit Padlet for information, guidance, tools and strategies for supporting children across the four broad areas of need, which are:

• Communication and Interaction
• Cognition and learning
• Social, emotional and /or mental health
• Physical and/or Sensory Development

The toolkit is organised into columns and enables you to offer universal and targeted support for children whose development may diverge from typical pathways. You can access the Padlet here

Early years funding

The available forms for relevant SEND and Inclusion funding (SENIF) are as follows:

Early years disability access fund form (word)
Early years inclusion funding/support procedure (pdf)
SEN inclusion fund application form (word)
SEN inclusion fund review form (word)

SENIF panel dates 2024-25

Here are the special educational needs inclusion funding (SENIF) panel dates 2024-25:

• Monday 14 October 2024
• Monday 9 December 2024
• Monday 10 February 2025
• Monday 31 March 2025
• Monday 19 May 2025
• Monday 7 July 2025

Applications must be received one week prior to panel dates to ensure they can be collated and presented at panel.