Priority Early Learning SEND Panel

Islington Children’s Centres and nurseries fund 36 Priority Early Learning SEND (PELSEND) places, for children aged under five who have severe and complex special educational needs. Places are allocated through the Priority Early Learning SEND panel. Find out more about PELSEND and how professionals can refer children for a place.

Before the panel takes place

The panel meets once a year in the summer term. If there are any vacancies, the panel meets once more in the autumn. All referrals are sent to panel representatives securely, with the vacancy list, around one week before the panel meeting.

Panel decision

The panel considers all the referrals together as a group before deciding on individual placements. Information from the referrals for the Priority Early Learning (PEL) panel and the Early Years SEND funding panel to consider will also support the decision-making.

To reach a decision, panel members will consider:

• severity and complexity of special educational needs and disability
• whether the child is already attending a nursery
• age of the child - 3 and 4-year-olds will be considered first, then younger children 
• best interests of the child
• parental choice
• distance to the nursery and how the family would need to travel for the child to attend
• requests for children to be moved from one setting to another (only in exceptional circumstances). 

What happens after the panel has taken place

1. The referrer will receive the decision in an email 48 hours later.
2. The referrer must email the panel administrator within five working days to tell them if the parent accepts the placement or not.
3. An outcome letter will be sent to the nursery five working days after the email confirmation.
4. The nursery setting where the placement has been allocated will then be responsible for contacting the parent to arrange a pre-placement meeting which will support the transition and settling-in arrangements.
5. Where it is not possible to offer a placement at the parents’ preferred choice nursery, the panel will try to secure the offer of a place at another nursery close to the parental address.
6. Children who are not offered a place at their preferred nursery will be discussed at the next panel.

Early Years provision

A start date and a pre-placement meeting should be offered within the first half term following the panel decision.

• A ‘team around the child’ must be established for all children in a PELSEND place which will include the child’s parents, nursery staff and other professionals. This team meets every eight weeks to agree documented short-term outcomes for the child and to agree the provision and interventions needed.
• Children in a PELSEND place will require short, daily, structured interventions to achieve their targets. The interventions will follow evidence-based practice to support the development of the child’s learning and play skills.
• PELSEND providers will be required to attend core training to ensure that the best possible provision is in place for all children.
• All PELSEND settings have an educational psychologist who will arrange planning meetings with the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) at the start of every term.
• Children in a PELSEND place will be discussed at the autumn term planning meeting if they are starting school in the following academic year to begin the planning and preparation for school transition.

SEN support and transition

SEN support should include planning and preparing for transition before a child moves into a PELSEND setting or on to school. This can also include a review of the SEN support provided.

To support transition, information should be shared by the current setting with the receiving setting or school. The current setting should agree with parents the information to be shared as part of the transition planning process.

Entitlement and funding

Children with severe and complex special educational needs and disabilities are entitled to the same offer of provision as all children in the maintained sector.

• PELSEND places are funded at 30 hours, 39 weeks during term time only.
• 3 and 4-year-olds are entitled to a free part-time (15 hours) place term time only, or 30 hours (for eligible working parents) term time only from the age of three in line with their free early education and childcare entitlement.

Education, health and care needs assessment

Children’s Centre or Nursery School SENCo can request an education, health and care needs assessment (EHCNA) for children who have been allocated a Priority Early Learning SEND (PELSEND) place following discussion with their parents or carers.

The EHCNA would usually be completed before the child starts school so that their needs have been identified and support is in place for their transition to the reception class.

Delayed admission to reception class

If parents of summer-born children want to request delayed admission into school reception class for the following academic year, a formal request must be submitted to the Islington School Admissions team before this can be agreed. For a child in a PELSEND place, the placement will end the year before they would have ordinarily started school.

Islington Pupil Services School Admission Team is responsible for managing admission to schools.

Panel members

• Early Years Panel Administrator (clerks the panel).
• Educational Psychologist - Chair.
• Educational Psychologist Representative.
• Representative from the Social Communication team.
• Representative from the Early Years Development team.
• Representative from the Early Years Area SENCo team.
• Children Centre SENCo - to be rotated from each Bright Start Area.
• One Head of a Children’s Centre.

If you have a query, email the Priority Early Learning SEND panel administrator at PriorityEarlyLearningSEND@islington.gov.uk.