Case studies

The Birmingham Local Area SEND inspection in 2018 highlighted the need to reduce waiting times for Speech and Language Therapist referrals. In response, Birmingham adopted the Balanced System Approach, focusing on family support, environment, workforce, identification, and intervention.

Essex County Council Public Health summarise and reflect on their Nourishing Our Future (NOF) programme and work to date.

Using provision and support mapping to create an Under Fives Speech, Language and Communication Strategy: Brighter Futures for Children (Reading LA) used the Best Start in SLCN guidance to create an under-fives strategy to support the development of improving SLCN to have an impact on children’s outcomes.

The government has set a target for 75 percent of children completing reception year to be 'school ready' by 2028.

Two early years leads at Solihull Council, Jane Glassey (early years SEND lead) and Lisa Morris (Team Manager), share the innovative ways their council is approaching the provision of early years special education needs and disabilities (SEND) support. The council’s approach focuses heavily on collaboration with settings and partners to provide the most effective support to the children who need it. Below are some of the key areas they are focusing on to do this:

The early years sector in the UK is facing a severe recruitment and retention crisis, with many settings struggling to find and keep qualified staff.

City of Doncaster Council has long been committed to supporting families through its network of 12 Family Hubs.

Central Family Hub Locality meetings are held on a monthly basis with partners from across the Family Hub network coming together.

We wanted to make accessing evidence-based parenting support easier for parents. We wanted to run programmes in local communities and schools, which parents would find available on their doorstep.

Active Together unlocked funding from Leicestershire County Council to support the Early Years physical activity agenda. The aim was to equip early years practitioners with the skills, knowledge and confidence to provide physical development opportunities for children in Early Years settings.