The Flying Start Inclusion Team
Our team is made up of an Early Years Specialist Teacher and Transition Support Worker. Our role is to:
- Support families and children with an additional need in Flying Start areas to access their local Flying Start setting.
- Ensure families with children with additional needs have a smooth transition from home into early years setting and then from early years setting into nursery.
- Provide training, support and advice to Flying Start settings so they can be fully inclusive and be able to meet the needs of all children in their care.
- Facilitate the development of individual development plans (IDPs) for those children identified as having an Additional Learning Need (ALN) that requires Additional Learning Provision (ALP).
Starting at a Flying Start setting for a child with an additional need
The Inclusion Team can support families whose child is planning on starting in a Flying Start setting. Relevant information about the child such as the best ways to support them, how they communicate and what is important to them can be gathered from the family and other professionals involved to create a ‘One Page Profile’ for the child. This information can then be shared with the setting staff prior to the child’s start to help them understand how best to support the child to ensure the child has the best possible start.
Creating an accessible inclusive environment
All children should be able to be included in their local Flying Start setting. Where children require additional or particular support to meet their needs, care is taken by the setting to identify and implement this both inclusively and sensitively within their current provision. This means that every child, no matter what their barrier to learning or play, will have equal access and the same opportunities to succeed.
The Inclusion Team provides the following services to Flying Start settings:
- Gathering information through a child centred approach to ensure that the child’s needs are planned for to ensure a smooth transition into setting.
- Focusing on the child’s stage of development and their next steps rather than the expectation for a child of that age and offer advice to settings on how to meet a child’s developmental needs.
- Offer guidance and resources to settings to enable them to make reasonable adjustments to the environment and play opportunities to include all children.
- Offer training and advice in inclusive practices to enable settings to meet the needs of children with additional needs so they are valued as individuals and can thrive
Managing the healthcare needs of a child
Some children may have physical or medical needs that may require staff in settings to be asked to carry out healthcare procedures in order to meet the child’s healthcare needs. Any child who requires a healthcare procedure will require a detailed Individual Healthcare Plan. This will be written in partnership with the most appropriate medical professional and signed and agreed by the setting, health teams and parents. The Flying Start Inclusion Team will liaise with the relevant health services to ensure that any training, support and advice be provided by relevant health professionals to early years setting practitioners who will be involved in carrying out these healthcare procedures.
Additional Provision
Most children with an additional need attending a Flying Start setting will be able to have their needs fully met within the inclusive provision of the setting. However a very small minority of children with severe and/or significant needs may require additional provision to enable them to access the setting successfully.
This decision will be made by the Local Authority and may require additional resources or bespoke packages of support. Any additional resources will be provided by the Local Authority as part of the child’s Additional Learning Provision (ALP) which will form part of the child’s Individual Development Plan (IDP)
A referral to the Early Years Forum will be required from a professional involved with the child before the Local Authority will make a decision regarding a child’s Additional Learning Needs and possible Additional Learning Provision.
