In many cases, you may already have a pre-school in mind for your child.  For example, the pre-school may have been attended by an older sibling.  

However, you need to consider the needs of your child and whether this particular pre-school or nursery that was a successful placement for your older child, is going to be the right pre-school for your child who has special educational needs.

Even if you feel it is the right place, it is always worth arranging a visit to discuss your child's needs, to see if the staff have experience of teaching and caring for a very young child with similar needs.  You may need to ask if they have regular input from external professionals, such as Speech and Language therapists.  

It may also be helpful to visit other pre-schools and nurseries, just to see what may be available elsewhere.

While all Early Years Providers must follow the Early Years guidance in the SEND Code of Practice, this various enormously from one setting to another.  

All Early Years Providers should have their Prospectus and Ofsted inspections available on their website.  

If the pre-school or nursery tell you that they do not feel they can meet your child's particular needs then you need to ask if they would work with you to obtain an EHC plan for your child.  Alternatively, you could consider whether it may be worth looking for another pre-school that may have specialist input.

See Common Problems in Under Fives 

Under Fives