Early Years Service

What is meant by Early Years?

Children under compulsory school age who are not at a maintained school in Wales.

 

What does receives this service? 

Where it is brought to its attention to a local authority, that a child in Early Years may have Additional Learning Needs (ALN), the local authority must decide whether the child has ALN. The Early Years Service co-ordinates the arrangements to allow a Local Authority to make that decision.

 

How to refer a child in Early Years to the Local Authority?

 

What does the service offer?

  • Support Early Years settings to provide provision for children with additional learning needs
  • Provide specific guidance and training to Early Years settings allowing them to plan effectively to respond to children's needs
  • Deliver interventions with resources that are tailored to children's needs.

The Early Years service works with parents, Early Years settings and other professionals to make sure that all children with ALN:

  • Have exactly the same opportunities as their friends.
  • Develop the specialist skills they need.
  • Achieve their potential and develop into independent learners.
  • Benefit from a specialist service that responds to the educational needs of the child.
  • Are educated in an environment that promotes educational inclusion.
  • Receive appropriate and timely support.

 

Who's in the team?
Early Years Additional Learning Needs Lead Officer

Ellen Jones
Specialist Teachers

Catrin Williams

Bethan Dixon

Ffion Lovgreen
Senior Specialist Teaching Assistants

Sarah Elliott
Specialist Teaching Assistants

Dawn Parry

Karen DeWaart

The Early Years Service works closely with the:

-          Sensory Service

-          Physical and / or Medical Service

-          Early Years Observation and Assessment (ABC) Service

-          Foundation Phase and Flying Start Advisory Teachers

-          Specialist Children’s Services (Derwen and SCS Anglesey)

 

What is the role of the Early Years Additional Learning Needs Lead Officer?

  • Provide guidance, advice and support to the early years sector to ensure high quality provision
  • Provide training to early years settings on matters relating to ALN , engaging with other professionals where appropriate and offering specialist input
  • Promote effective collaboration with health, education, third sector and social care professionals regarding ALN provision.
  • To have an overview of the planning and allocation of budgets for ALN.
  • Providing support to ensure that Early Years Individual Development Plans are prepared, maintained and reviewed.
  • Ensure that where Additional Learning Provision is allocated and specified in the Individual Development Plan, it is regularly reviewed to ensure that the resource is effective and evidence of impact.
  • Develop systems for early identification of possible ALN, and implement early and appropriate interventions are put in place to prevent the development or escalation of ALN
  • Work with wider teams of early years professionals and specialists to develop collaborative working across education, health, social care and the third sector.

 

What is the role of the Educational Psychologist?

 

What is the role of the early years setting?

  • Develop a friendly and inclusive learning environment for individuals with ALN
  • Observation and assessment, planning, implementation and appropriate reviewing to look at children's needs and select strategies and / or interventions needed to provide and support the needs of the child or children.
  • Use an Early Years progress tracking document if routine assessment methods have identified a need in a particular area
  • Create One Page Profiles for children on targeted Universal Provision
  • Provide quality Universal Provision interventions and strategies for everyone within the setting
  • Provide targeted Universal Provision interventions and strategies for children who have identified need in a specific area
  • Use a graduated response method and collate evidence in line with the requirements of the Early Years Provision Map document
  • Refer a child to the Local Authority if you suspect the child may have ALN
  • Nursery education settings are expected to assist the Authority with ALN duties in relation to a child attending the setting if requested to do so.

 

Who else can help?