LOCAL OFFER
The choice and opportunities for early education and childcare for children aged between 0-4 years with SEND are the same as those for other children.
The choices you have include:
- Childminders; providing full/part time child care within their own home
- Day care; provide full/ part time childcare in a setting for children aged up to 5 years – all year round.
- Playgroups
- Pre-school; provide part time childcare in a setting for children aged 2-5 years – term time only.
- Nursery (school or private nurseries); provide part time childcare in a setting for children aged 2-5 years – term time only.
These are referred to as early years settings or early years providers. Each will offer something different, so you can choose what suits your child and family situation.
To find out more about available child minders, local nurseries, playgroups and pre-schools go to Family Space or visit your local Children’s Centre . Once you make contact with a setting or a children’s centre, staff will be able to explain to the different ways that you can get help to pay for a place. Or go to gov link. Childcare.
You can find more information about early year’s support locally by going to Croydon Best Start Service website. (external link)
Best Start is a service from pregnancy until your child turns 5. It is made up of a number of different organisations all working together to support you to give your child the Best Start in life. As well as details of children centres Best Start can signpost you to other help including finding parenting groups and advice on health and child development.
Is there any special early years provision for children in Croydon?
Most children with special needs are able to go to local playgroups, pre-schools and nurseries. Each setting is able to plan and provide extra support to help them learn alongside other children.
For a small number of children, the complexity and severity of their needs may mean that a specialist setting would be more suitable. These settings work closely with health services such as occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and nursing teams to provide highly tailored packages of support for individual children.
There are three specialist nurseries in Croydon (details below) Admission to specialist early years provision is managed centrally by Croydon Local Authority SEND service.
For more information please contact the 0 -25 SEND service:
senenquiries@croydon.gov.uk or call 020 8604 7263
Specialist nursery provision in Croydon:
Rainbow nursery offers specialist care for children with a variety of additional needs, including those with severe and profound learning difficulties and disabilities.
Willow tree nursery (Gilbert Scott school); Enhanced learning provision within a mainstream school for children with severe learning difficulties and autism.
Winterbourne nursery (Winterbourne nursery and infant school); Enhanced learning provision within a mainstream school for children with moderate learning delays and a combination of speech, language and social interaction difficulties. Some children may have a diagnosis of autism.
(for more information about ELP go to link -types of school)