Early years and childcare for children with special educational needs and disabilities

Most early years age children should be able to access their local early years setting and have their SEND needs identified and met within that setting.

To enable this to happen, we have an Early Years SEND team who support early years age children and their families, along with the professionals who look after them, to ensure they receive the best support available.

However, there are some early years age children with more complex needs who require further support and assessment in a specialist early years setting.

In response to increasing demand and as a result of the 2023 consultation on the proposal to create an early years assessment base, Widemarsh Explorers opened in autumn 2023.

Children who attend Widemarsh Explorers will receive a more detailed assessment of their needs to ensure that they go on to access the appropriate setting for their reception place.

About Widemarsh explorers

Widemarsh Explorers Early Years Assessment Base is part of Hampton Dene Primary School. They are located in Widemarsh Children's Centre and are part of the local education offer for children with special educational needs.

Widemarsh Explorers offers special educational needs provision for children from the pre-school year (Nursery 2) through to reception. There are a maximum of 24 part-time placements for young children who are in the education, health and care plan process.

Widemarsh Explorer staff work with families to tailor each child's curriculum to their individual needs and to nurture their skills and development. This means that they can work with families to better understand their child's needs and plan for a great transition to whatever school comes next. Some children will be able to attend full time, some will have phased or variable attendance depending on needs and age.

Widemarsh Explorers work to the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum and promote the characteristics of effective learning in everything they do.

During a child's time with Widemarsh Explorers, the education, health and care plan assessment will take place. Everyone will work together to seek the right advice about education. They will benefit from visiting professionals such as the Educational Psychologist and speech and language therapist.

Find out more about Widemarsh Explorers

This is part of the early years' provision for SEND in Herefordshire. You can find out more in the early years booklet from Parent Carer Voice (PCV) Herefordshire. You can also visit the Hampton Dene Primary School website which has photos and more information about the base.

Within the Early Years Inclusion Service, there are Portage workers and a specialist communication team who will act as facilitators for this process. If your child is known to this service, please do talk to your worker. Where we are in agreement that your child has additional special educational needs that would be helped by some specialist provision, we suggest a Family Conversation to capture what we know and your views. This will form part of the process of requesting an education, health and care plan (EHCP).

This Family Conversation helps the Early Years Inclusion Team know Widemarsh Explorers could be an appropriate setting for your child. In this case it is submitted to the SEN team to progress. You will then be allocated a SEN Caseworker who will be in contact to explain next steps. You will also be invited to visit the base at Widemarsh.

It is really important to talk to your support worker because every case is individual and there will be specific questions and considerations for you and your child that may not be the same for every child.

How your child can attend Widemarsh Explorers

The SEN team caseworker will coordinate next steps. If you are not known to the Early Years Inclusion Service, or the SEN team, talk to your nursery or childminder who will know how to contact the Early Years Inclusion Service so that we can have a conversation with you.

Once a place is agreed for your child, we may be able to offer a personal transport budget to support you in the journey from home to school if you live more than 2 miles from the base.

What happens after Widemarsh Explorers

As part of the programme at Widemarsh Explorers, professionals will work with you and the SEN team to look at the options and explore the best next step for your child's education. This may be your nearest mainstream school or a different specialist base or school. We have great transition links and will work closely with the next staff team to pass on successful strategies and ensure that your child is comfortable and familiar with their next education setting.