SEND Support In Nursery
Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are those who have a difficulty or disability
that can make aspects of learning more difficult for them.
Learning difficulties include conditions such as dyslexia and dyscalculia, and children with them tend to
struggle with just one aspect of learning, such as reading or maths.
Learning disabilities are conditions that children are born with or that they acquire from some form of
trauma to the brain.
SEND also includes physical disabilities that might make movement or play more challenging.
The Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO)
The SENCO is responsible for coordinating the care and development of all children with SEND in the
setting, including:
• Training colleagues in how to care for a child with SEND
• Making provisions for each child’s needs
• Working with parents to provide the best care and learning opportunities for their child
• Liaising with schools to decide when the child is ready for mainstream or a special needs school and
any provisions they might need there
Scallywags nursery have multiple SENCO’s that work across both sites. These SENCO’s also work closely
with all staff to support this in providing day to day care for your child.
How nursery staff can identify SEND in children
For some children, their learning difficulty or disability is apparent from birth. For many others, signs start
to show as they grow.
At Scallywags nursery staff monitor each child’s progress and are trained to pick up on signs of a possible
learning difficulty or disability, or a physical disability, which can include:
• Limitations with movement, including standing, walking, moving their arms, gripping and hand-eye
coordination
• Delayed speech or little engagement with language
• Trouble with social skills, such as not being able to read others’ facial expressions or body language,
or having difficulty with sharing and playing with others
• Difficulty with academic skills like learning the alphabet, understanding rhymes, recognising letters
and numbers, counting etc.
If nursery staff notice some of these signs and think your child may have SEND, they will discuss this with
you and the nursery’s SENCO.