Children First 2006 - Supporting children with special needs

Supporting children with special needs

Written by Val Railton, Inclusion Project Co-ordinator, Wakefield Pre-school Learning Alliance

Finding places in childcare for children with special needs can be a daunting experience for parents and carers. However, by working closely with practitioners in early years settings, parents can expect a child with special needs to be looked after just as well as other children. In this article, parents of children with special needs also share their experiences with us.

All parents/carers need to feel welcomed when they visit an early years setting for the first time but the response that you, as a parent/carer of a child with special needs, receive is even more important.

A lot of courage

As a parent of a child who has special needs you’re likely to be nervous about calling in to put your child’s name on the waiting list.

These might be some of the things going through your mind:

What will they say?
Might they say they can’t cope with your child’s extra needs, and if they do, how will you feel?
How will the other parents and children respond?
Will children make comments about how your precious child looks?
Will they want to play with them?

The staff will understand that for some parents it could take a lot of courage to walk through the door of the early years setting for the first time. They will realise that at this time you might be feeling extremely vulnerable and they should be sensitive and responsive to your needs.

Support from the setting

A good quality early years setting will be aware of your needs as well as being friendly, reassuring, patient and honest. Feel free to go with a list of questions – the staff will be used to this and will spend time answering these, reassuring you that your child’s needs will be met. As with all parents, they will spend time getting to know you and your child, building up a trusting and open relationship and allowing you to gain confidence in them.

You will be asked to complete the standard admission form and provide additional information about your child’s condition and any other professionals involved with them. These professionals will have useful information about your child, for example, for a child with cerebral palsy the physiotherapist could advise the staff on positioning and handling techniques. So remember to tell them about who is involved with your child and the early years setting will only contact them with your permission.

Ways in which settings may support you:

By taking responsibility for the daily physiotherapy exercises some children need on the days they are at the early years setting.
By implementing Portage programmes for a child.
By keeping detailed records other professionals might need, such as lists of words spoken by a child for the speech and language therapist.

Settling in

Staff at the setting will aim to make the big step from home to childcare a positive experience for everyone. They understand that each child needs time to get to know them and other children in order to feel happy to stay at the setting. You can stay with your child for as long as you want in order to introduce them gradually to the day-to-day routines of the setting. If your child needs to have invasive procedures, such as rectal diazepam or a gastrostomy feed, a health professional can train staff at the setting and put written protocols in place. Staff will make sure your child is safe at all times and will be happy to take on these responsibilities.

Personal experiences

Two parents of children with special educational needs share their experiences of finding support for their children and for themselves.

Our journey

Parent: Paul Gunson (father)
Child: Daniel
Diagnosis: Autistic Spectrum Disorder

“As a dad of an autistic son who knew nothing about the education process, I have been led through what has sometimes been a cumbersome and laborious process. Along the way, I have had lots of helping hands from many organisations.

The Pre-school Learning Alliance has been a great help and guide. Staff have taken me under their wing and been a constant source of support, encouragement and information. They organised a place at a private day nursery, supported Daniel through visits and funded support assistants. When Daniel was diagnosed with autism, they contacted the local authority and secured funding for a part-time place during the school holidays at a local nursery so that he could keep to a routine during the break. In addition, they have kept me informed about seminars and visiting speakers on autism.

When Daniel was three, we moved him from a private day nursery to a small pre-school linked to a mainstream state school. The staff were excellent, both in their attitude towards Daniel and in their energy and motivation in trying to bring out the best in him. They have been well supported by the area Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO), who has provided the necessary help and guidance for Daniel to achieve targets for his Individual Education Plan.

The head teacher from the mainstream school we have chosen has been supportive in allowing Daniel to go to the reception class with his classroom support assistant (CSA) before he starts in September, so he can get used to the surroundings and the setting. Both the reception class teacher and his allocated CSA have visited him at home, in their own free time, so that he will not be surrounded by unfamiliar faces at the start of term.
The only negative aspect of the education system I have encountered is trying to get a statement of special educational needs from the local authority. The majority of parents should be thankful they do not have to deal with this as it is one of the most demoralising and soul- destroying things I have ever had to do in my life.

You have to identify your child’s weaknesses and lack of ability compared with both ‘normal’ children and other children with ‘physical’ disabilities. I feel that autism is treated as a ‘second class’ disability within my own local authority, if such a thing is possible. It may be easier to get a statement for children with physical disabilities because their needs are broadly the same. However, each case for a child with autism can be different, making it a difficult condition to pigeonhole – and which makes the statement officer’s job considerably harder. Everyone wants the best for their children. However, personally, I have found the process to be somewhat of a lottery. It seems weighted towards whoever is most determined, persuasive and skilled in negotiation, which I consider to be ideologically wrong.

The whole process has been both an experience and a steep learning curve. I would advise anyone with concerns about educating their pre-school children (not just children with special educational needs) to contact the Alliance for advice.”

Including Beth

Parent: Amanda Courtman (mother)
Child: Beth
Diagnosis: Down’s syndrome

“When Beth went into the toddler room at the local nursery, it became apparent that she would not be able to access all of the activities and stay safe at the one to four adult to child ratio. The manager contacted the Wakefield Pre-school Learning Alliance Inclusion Project and the project provided funds for a worker who could support Beth and the setting – enabling Beth to access the care and education she needed.

By the time Beth moved into the local pre-school (a member of the Alliance), I had gone back to work. As well as getting Beth a place at pre-school, we needed to access wraparound care for her, outside of the main pre-school sessions. Again, the group leader contacted the Inclusion Project, which provided funds for a support worker for Beth in wraparound and during pre-school sessions.

When Beth moved into a nursery run by the local education authority and was given a statement of special educational needs, the project continued to support the setting by providing a support worker for wraparound care. Now Beth is five and at school. During the summer she will be going to a local play scheme. Again, the Inclusion Project will provide funds for a support worker for Beth.

Beth needs full support when accessing the out-of-school provision that she loves and needs. It helps to strengthen her social skills and enables her to learn from typically developing children. She is fully included in activities her peers are involved with. It has meant that I can work a few hours in the ‘real’ world and keep my sense of self, knowing that Beth is safe and having fun and that I can rely on the Inclusion Project and their workers.

So what has this meant to Beth and us as a family with a child with a disability? Inclusion, normality and stability. Without the Wakefield Pre-school Learning Alliance Inclusion Project, our life would be much harder and we thank them for their dedication and hard work.”

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