Increase in under-fives diagnosed with SEN

The Department for Education’s latest statistics on pupils with special educational needs (SEN) shows that 305 children that go to maintained nurseries have statements of special educational needs, up from 265 in 2008.

There has also been a rise in the number of children who attend private, voluntary or independent early years settings, with the number of children who received a statement for the first time increasing from 680 in 2008 to 730 in 2011.

In total 900 children with statements of special needs attended PVI settings in January 2012.

The figures, which are based on data from the School Census and the SEN 2 surveys 2008-2012, also found that 225 children aged two and under in nursery classes within schools have a statement of educational needs. This increased to 1,535 at age three, 7,460 at age four and 9,615 at age five.

The tables show that the number of children with SEN attending maintained nurseries has also risen from 4,230 in 2008 to 5,155 in 2012 (table 1C).

Mary Hartshorne, head of quality and outcomes, at I CAN, the children’s communication charity, said, ‘Looking at the newly released DfE SEN stats for nurseries, primary and secondary schools, there does seem to be a steady increase in the numbers of children with statements in maintained nurseries – and this is different to numbers in primary and secondary schools which have been relatively constant over the last four years.

‘The DfE doesn’t give a  breakdown of the types of SEN in nursery provision, however, I CAN has previously expressed concerns that Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN), often goes undetected in children, affecting their ability to learn, make friends and achieve their potential.

‘At primary age, SLCN is still the most prevalent type of SEN in children with statements and school action plus. This highlights the importance of early identification and support for children with SLCN. We think that it is vital that all practitioners, across the age range, are given training in how to develop children’s communication skills, to ensure that they can identify children who have difficulties and need additional support. If tackled early, many children with SLCN can catch up with their peers. There is a critical window before the age of five-and-a-half where interventions can be most effective and gaps can be closed. We would encourage early years settings to ensure that staff are given good quality training in communication, to ultimately result in more children being identified as early as possible and ensuring they get the right support.’

Claire Schofield, National Day Nurseries Association’s director of membership policy and communications said, ‘NDNA believes that the most important issue is whether children with additional needs receive the right support, regardless of whether they have a statement. With spending cuts many nurseries are seeing support from local authorities for children with additional needs decreasing.

'In our survey of nurseries who had been involved in trials of funded two-year-old places, 52 per cent said that they needed further support for children with additional needs. Local authorities and the Government must make sure there is budget in place to support children receiving free nursery education places with additional needs who require, for example, higher ratio care or additional resources purchasing to help with their development. If children get the right support at an early age they will often require less support when they are older.’