TELL US ABOUT THE AWARD. WHY DID YOU APPLY?
We have supported many children with autism and worked closely with their families for several years now and we wanted this award for our practice to be recognised and to highlight the work we do as a maintained nursery school.
I am the trained SENCO and we have many staff with various levels of expertise. We are very well known with specialists in Hertfordshire, including special needs health visitors and speech and language therapists. We’re often recommended to parents, especially by previous parents, and we’re very inclusive.
We have 133 children in pre-school and nursery and around a third of childrenhave SEND.
We were given the opportunity to apply for the award by our local Delivering Specialist Provision Locally (DSPL) area with the National Autistic Society.
We have been working on the award since November 2020. There are many primary schools that have it, but we are the first early years setting.
WHAT DID YOU HAVE TO DO TO ACHIEVE THE ACCREDITATION?
I started by setting up a working party. First, we had to work towards four standards for early years set by the Autism Education Trust. The standards are broken down into four areas, covering the Unique Child, Positive Relationships, Learning and Development, and Enabling Environments.
Once we had realised that we had met the standards I knew we were ready to submit the evidence.
We had to put together four case studies, documentation, photos, a survey with parents of children with autism.
We also had a two-hour assessment interview, which took place on Zoom because of Covid. We could only be assessed on our work with children over the last 18 months on this.
HOW DO YOU SUPPORT CHILDREN WITH AUTISM?
We have some children that tend to be picked up very early on by health visitors at around two years old – with very severe autism. We will work with health visitors and paediatricians to achieve a diagnosis. The majority of children who are with us tend to already have a diagnosis from a paediatrician. Or if not, we will support parents to get a diagnosis. Some of the children are pre-verbal, with very little communication. All staff use Makaton signs, gestures, lanyards, and symbols to communicate with the children. The staff are very skilled with that. Children have lots of sensory needs and behavioural difficulties.
Many of our children start in our pre-school, move to nursery and then on to specialist provision.
DO SOME OF THE CHILDREN ATTENDING THE NURSERY AND PRE-SCHOOL ALREADY HAVE EDUCATION HEALTH AND CARE PLANS?
This year alone I’ve done seven Education and Health Care Plans (EHCP). It’s a long process. We also support parents with the EHCP process, which can take 20 weeks.
You don’t need an autism diagnosis for an EHCP. You need to show that children aren’t making the progress they need to be. For example, if a child’s development is at 0-11 months, but they are 24 months, they are already a year developmentally below their chronological age, and that’s a trigger.
The assessment for an EHCP will involve an education psychologist and any other professionals working with the child, with evidence also from myself as the SENCo on behalf of the school. Many children when they do leave us go into specialist provision. There is a real shortage of places in Hertfordshire, and I’m sure across the country. Some children defer their Reception place, and we keep them with us until they are five. There are maintained nursery schools that will keep children until they are six.
WHAT WOULD YOU USE THE FUNDING FROM THE EHCP FOR?
We would provide one-to-one support. For example, if children are pre-verbal, with no awareness of danger, we provide that one-to-one support. The funding can be anything from £2,000 - £6,000 a year per child and pays towards a staff member’s salary.
HOW DO YOU TALK TO PARENTS WHO MAY BE WORRIED ABOUT THEIR CHILD’S DEVELOPMENT?
We’re so skilled with children’s development. Sometimes parents will initially have concerns because they compare their children with other children, and ask questions. We will suggest to parents if there are signs that we see are obvious, because it’s a very difficult journey to go on, to get that diagnosis.
We might ask questions, sensitively, about what’s happening at home, or suggest a developmental check with a health visitor who will come to see the child at the setting. If we have concerns, we would hold a team around the family meeting to coordinate support, with the health visitor, me as the SENCo, and the parents. It can take 18 months for children to be seen by a paediatrician at a child development assessment clinic. It is a long time. Sometimes children can have a fast-track diagnosis.
These are children with more severe autism and are non-verbal. It has to be very clear cut, because you wouldn’t want to give a diagnosis if there was any doubt.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR YOU TO HAVE THE AWARD?
It recognises the excellent practice that we have in place and helps with our reputation to remain sustainable.
- The National Autistic Society’s Autism Inclusion Award is set to officially launch in the autumn. For more information on the charity and autism, visit autism.org.uk.
