I can't bloody find childcare

[Hogi]

Hi all,

I was wondering if you had any suggestions - posting here as SN children is pretty quiet these days.

My 2 year old son has additional needs. He has a rare genetic condition which is similar to ASD (probably has ASD as well tbf) and well he's in a childminders at the moment but she only works term time and not Fridays so our needs have changed and we require term time care and Fridays now so we approached another childminder who has also has staff so basically a small nursery explained the situation, my sons needs etc and she said it was fine and they could take him on, we did a visit but at the time only her staff were there as she had fallen asleep upstairs when putting a child down to nap due to medication so didn't meet my little boy.

After the visit I messaged her and she said her staff was happy with him and we'd sign contracts etc so I gave my childminder notice and it was all sorted ... so I thought.

I messaged the new childminder on Sunday to ask about contracts and she advised she had decided not to take my little boy on as she felt she couldn't meet his needs ... okay fair enough but this has been sitting with her for over a month after many occasions of her reassuring us she could take him on. I've already given notice to my childminder who was happy to keep him and now she's filled the spaces which is fair enough.

I'm absolutely buggered. Every childminder I've approached cannot take him on due to his needs. All SEN nurseries are full and I don't know if normal nurseries can handle him as last time he attended one they didn't feed him all day as he refused so they gave up...

I'm waiting on a DLA decision but they can be awkward with under 3s sometimes and they just say 2 year olds need a lot of care so unsure what the outcome will be but I'm at my wits end and have no clue what to do.

Any help please?

Every area is different but there is funding available for preschool children- sometimes called early years funding/ high needs funding/ inclusion funding. Check out your areas local offer on the LA website. Nurseries can apply for this funding which could provide a 1:1 etc. alternatively you can apply for an EHCP.

Keep persevering with private nurseries, decent ones have SENCO and work with local authorities etc. DD is 2.7 and nonverbal at nursery with diagnosed speech delay and we have been referred for ASD diagnosis. She goes through periods of not eating. Her keyworker will literally sit with her on the floor and offer her known likes such as toast and yogurt if she refuses a meal. She sits holding her hand while she eats if she needs some support. They have a separate sensory room for when she needs calm time.

Dont write them off just yet - have a look round. Fingers crossed!

As a pp mentioned there is early years inclusion funding, but this will depend on your LA as not all LAs provide it for 2 year olds.

Does DS have an EHCP? If he does unless the SEN nurseries are wholly independent on its own being full isn’t enough of a reason to refuse to name it. If not you need to request an EHCNA, on their website IPSEA have a model letter you can use. Some LAs have early years assessment places for those going through the EHCP process.