Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) should be included and educated alongside their peers.
Providers are allowed to charge extra if they need to employ extra staff or limit their provision to fewer children, but are only allowed to charge for the extra costs incurred. All childcare providers must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to include children with special educational needs and disabilities.
Early years and childcare providers can access the following funding to support your child.
Disability Access Funding (DAF)
Disability Access Funding (DAF) is funding for early years providers to support access for children with disabilities or special educational needs.
The funding should be used by providers to make reasonable adjustments to their setting that will enhance inclusive practice. To qualify for the funding, the three or four-year-old child must receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and accessing Early Years Entitlement Funding.
Disability Access Funding is not based on an hourly rate and is paid in addition to the Early Years Funding for three and four-year-olds. Three and four-year-old children who receive DLA will be eligible to claim Disability Access Funding when they take up any period of funded entitlement, they do not have to be taking up their full entitlement.
The funding is an annual payment of up to £828 (pro rata in spring or summer if a school starter in September).
If you think your child may be entitled to Disability Access Funding please speak to your childcare provider.
Inclusion funding for Early years
All early years providers receive some additional inclusion funding to support inclusion work and can also apply for funding to support individual children.
This funding can be used to support staff training, provide targeted group interventions and give additional adult support where needed.
Early Years Pupil Premium
Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) is additional funding that is available to early years providers to support children’s development, learning and care.
EYPP provides extra money to the early years provider for three and four-year-old children whose parents receive a qualifying benefit, are in care to a local authority or who have left care under an adoption, special guardianship or child arrangement order.