Meeting the childcare needs of children with SEND

Our 22nd annual Childcare Survey revealed that only 18% of local authorities have enough childcare for disabled children. With this in shocking statistic in mind, we knew we had to make children with SEND the focus of this year’s Childcare Survey panel event.

Our two guest speakers – Katie Ghose, CEO of KIDS and Catherine McLeod, CEO of Dingley’s Promise – spoke passionately about the scandalous lack of early education for children with SEND, what’s causing it, and how to fix it.

Both Katie and Catherine said that much more data on early years provision for children with SEND is needed. Our latest Childcare Survey told us that only 18% of local authorities believe they have enough childcare places for disabled children, but Catherine challenged whether local authorities have the evidence and support to be sure that they do. The true figure may be even less. As Katie said, current data is “just scratching the surface.” We need to have a better grasp of the issue so we can address it.

At CFC, we were excited to see the scale of the investment in childcare in the recent Budget. However, many of these announcements risk locking more disabled children out of early education.

The proposal to relax child-staff ratios has been unpopular with parents and providers alike and its implementation could be particularly devastating for children with SEND, many of whom have greater care needs.

We also need to think carefully about the expansion of funded early education entitlements. Catherine told us that, historically, as funded childcare increases, provision for children with SEND decreases. Unfortunately, the “perfect storm” of increased demand and reduced capacity means that provision for disabled children is further squeezed and children with SEND are turned away. Catherine said:

Even when funding is granted, the process of applying for it is complex, there are often delays in getting it to settings and inclusion funding frequently doesn’t cover the full 30 hours of early education children are entitled to.

Even if funding and places are available, broken trust may impact parents’ willingness to access childcare. Katie spoke about the effects of stigma on children with SEND and their families – which often begins before birth. Providers and other parents can hold negative attitudes about children with SEND which undermine parents’ confidence in settings’ abilities to support their child. Katie said, “If you’ve had a negative experience in an informal setting, your confidence in a formal setting – where your child will be spending a lot of the week – will really be impacted.”

Conversely, some childcare providers have a reputation for excellent SEND provision. They provide an example of what is possible in meeting the needs of every child. But all settings should have a baseline understanding of caring for children with SEND so that parents have a genuine choice and these “honeypot” providers don’t become so full that they are forced to turn children away, as is happening in some areas. Knowledge and expertise needs to be more evenly distributed, alongside reliable distribution of funds.

As Katie said, we already have examples of what works. The next step is to share this knowledge between settings, to ensure funding is adequate and timely, and to reduce negative pre-conceptions about children with SEND. “The extension of early years childcare is welcome but making it work for children with SEND is everyone’s responsibility.”