Inclusion Officer - How serious is it when they get involved?

[Popi70]

My 3 and a half yrs old daughter's nursery has arranged for an inclusion officer to 'observe' her. I am concerned because the nursery manager claims on the one hand that there is 'nothing to worry about' whilst on the other hand this is clearly not a routine observation; they have concerns about her potty training progress and her social skills. There were never any concerns about her development from health visitors or her previous nursery (we moved some months ago to a smaller town). I don't know what to make of this. Is there anyone else with a similar experience (ie having a child whom you thought had a typical development and then asked to be seen by an inclusion officer)?

We invite the area inco out to see any child that we have a query about, I have seen the process end at this stage just as often as I have seen referrals to other agencies. If you are concerned find out whencshe is coming and try and speak to her.

Thanks 'supersewer'!

Inclusion officer or inclusion teacher is the new name for the Area SENCO.
It may be that the nursery just want some advice on what stratagies to use to support your DD in the areas she is struggling with.
Research has shown that early intervention is so important. Some children just need a gentle 'nudge' in the right direction.
What are the problems with her toilet trining and social skills? Have you had a meeting with the nursery senco or your DD's key-person to discuss these issues?

Inclusion officers, inclusion teachers, area sencos, specialist teachers and even EYFS inclusion consultants are all doing the same role just have different names in different areas.

Essentially, as others have said, early years settings usually contact them when they have some concerns about a child's progress/development and they want another pair of eyes to 'have a look'. In our area this cannot happen without parents giving permssion and it would be usual, unless circumstances prohibit it, for the inclusion teacher to feedback to the parents after the visit to let them know what he/she has seen and what they think are appropriate next steps e.g. continue to monitor, refer to other services etc. However, no onward referrals can be made without parental consent.