What support should nursery provide for a two year old with SEN?

[Throwaway0]

2 year old DS had surgery for glue ear last month and we thought he was doing really well in terms of increased engagement and speech development. I wanted to hear how he was doing at nursery and they've presented me with a list of things he can't do in terms of sharing and attention during circle time. They've come as a bit of a shock to me as the last time they did a developmental assessment they said he was fine apart from speech and language. When I asked them whether they thought he would be ready to start school next September they said no. I'm pretty devastated.

My question is - what kind of support can I reasonably expect the nursery to provide? I think it is time to start thinking about EHCP assessments and deferring school entry, as he is summer born, but nursery keep saying that they would like to wait a few months before they would support either. We've now had developmental concerns for a year and I feel like more and more things are popping up. They are never proactively raised, I have to ask for chats with the nursery staff and then things pop up out of the blue. I'm not sure we're getting all the support we should be.

Any advice/experience gratefully received.

Sorry not to directly answer your question but you've mentioned knowing about the ability to defer summerborn children. We deferred our July-born son and he is thriving (both school and nursery felt going to school just after turning 4 was too early for where he was developmentally). You may find having that extra year gives him plenty of time for speech/engagement to improve.

However, if there are serious medical concerns from the nursery about development, beyond that expected of a child with his history of ear issues, I would ask for a formal report and discuss the report with GP. If any suspicion of developmental disorder, they could refer to community paediatrics team.

It is upsetting to hear your child isnt at thevsame level as theur peers.

I think your son is at an age where you can do loads at home, from sharing games, to reading to little games that help build attention.

I wouldnt rely.too much on the nursery to put in support but just do fun stuff at home, to help build up these areas.

This is exactly my thinking about deferring - it may be that the extra year allows him to catch up. Part of my frustration comes from the fact that I asked whether they were willing to support a deferral application, as I know this is one of the things the LA look at, and they weren't willing to commit to that either. It just feels that they've thrown a load of issues at us out of the blue, and not even indicated that they're prepared to tick a check box on a form.

Request an EHCNA yourself now. On their website, IPSEA has a model letter you can use. You don’t need the nursery’s support.

If the nursery needs more advice on how to support, they can ask the Area SENCO for advice. If your area still has a specialist teaching service, they should ask them for advice too.

If the nursery needs more funding in order to be able to provide the support required, they can apply for early years inclusion funding.

Request a meeting with DS’s key-worker and whoever has responsibility for SEN at the nursery (they may not call them the SENCO but there will be someone with responsibility). They should be undertaking the assess, plan, do, review cycle. That involves looking at DS’s needs, considering what support is required, putting that into practice, then reviewing.

Follow up all verbal conversations with emails, so you have a paper trail.

It is worth speaking to your HV &/or GP too.