Speak to any education, health, or family support/care professional working with your family and ask them to make a referral to a specialist if you have concerns about:
- how your child is developing
- their learning progress
Practitioners who work in universal or specialist health services can make a referral to the Early Years Inclusion Pathway if they think your child:
- has needs which cannot be met by the universal Best Start in Life programme
- may have a learning and developmental delay
- needs additional support or interventions
Ideally, the health professional working with the child under five should make the referral, but it can be made by any professional, such as at a nursery or an OFSTED-registered childminder, or a family support worker. They must tell you if they are making a referral about your child.
A referral to the Early Years Inclusion pathway means that the right information and support can be put into place for your child to meet the expected levels of progress, leading up to and when they start their education.
Best Start in Life service
Referrals are not required for families to access the universal Best Start in Life services.
You can:
- access these yourself
- ask your health professional to help you
Best Start in Life services can be accessed in addition to any targeted and specialist support you may get.
Health bodies must make a referral to the Early Years Inclusion Pathway as they have a statutory duty under Section 23 of the Children and Family Act 2014 to bring to the attention of the Local Authority any child that resides in Waltham Forest who is under compulsory school age where, in the course of exercising functions in relation to a child, they form the opinion that the child has (or probably has) special educational needs or a disability.
They must:
- inform the child's parent of their opinion and of their duty
- allow the child's parent to discuss their opinion with an officer of the group or trust
If the group or trust thinks a particular voluntary organisation is likely to be able to give the parent advice or assistance in connection with any special educational needs or disability the child may have, they must inform the parent.
As part of this duty, Health professionals will seek consent from you to share information about your child.
The local authority will:
- respond to the notification
- act upon the shared information to ensure appropriate learning and support is put in place
- integrate this with support provided by health and other services or professionals as appropriate
Nurseries, preschools, and childminders also have a duty to seek support from other professionals to support your child’s learning and development if they are unable to meet their needs.