"Enabling potential and celebrating success; together we can help children learn"
What is the Specialist Teaching Service?
Specialist teachers support children in non-maintained and maintained early years settings in Derbyshire. Teachers support settings to carry out assessments, set long-term learning outcomes (often in support of Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund (SENIF) evaluations), and advise the setting. The specialist teacher will support the setting to use short-term targets through cycles of assess, plan, do and review at a specialist level of the graduated response. Specialist teachers work directly with the child and with setting staff, giving advice, modelling strategies and providing training.
The package of support offered by the specialist teacher team may look different depending on the needs of the child and the requirements of the setting. There are three levels of support: standard, responsive and enhanced.
Standard level - standard level of support typically includes between 1-3 visits within the first half term to provide support for the adults with some modelling around strategies and training delivery to meeting the individual needs of the child. Teachers would also in this time support adults to complete assessments. We will then return for review after an agreed period, typically 8-12 weeks.
Responsive level - a responsive level of support typically includes a block of work every 1-2 weeks for 4-6 sessions to work more intensively on the area of need that was identified at the initial visit to be the main barrier to play and learning. This level of support recognises that staff’s understanding or confidence would benefit from additional specialist support. The block may include training around this area of need to support the hands-on work. Following this work, we will give the setting time to embed their new skills independently before returning for review.
Enhanced level - an enhanced level of support typically involves regular ongoing visits with direct working, modelling, a training offer and review meetings in line with the child’s EYIF / EHCP.
Who are the EYSEN Specialist Teaching Team?
The team of 11 qualified teachers (some of whom work part time) are all highly experienced teachers of early years children with special educational needs (SEN). They are dual experts in both early years education and development and in SEN.
How does Specialist Teacher support work?
The teacher team offers a model of support which works primarily with the child in their early years setting. The support is flexible and varies in response to the child’s needs and the confidence of the staff working with the child to meet those needs. Visits focus on practical ideas and play experiences which support the child to make progress towards agreed learning outcomes.
The teacher visits support the setting in implementing their cycles of assess, plan, do and review which are required by the SEND Code of Practice (2015) and by updating the child’s Individual Support Plan (ISP) as required by the SEND reforms. At reviews, the decision regarding ongoing support is taken. Sometimes children will move between the levels of support offered or be closed to caseload. These decisions are taken at reviews and moderated within the teacher team.
Sometimes children remain on caseload until they start school in reception year. In these cases, the specialist teacher may support transition, and work with the early years setting, school, parents and other professionals and support agencies to achieve a confident and successful transition.
What our settings say
“We have absolutely loved working with the specialist teacher, and the child has made lots of progress with her support. Thank you so much for your support with our setting as a whole.”
“The support and advice provided to both myself as manager, our SENCO and the family has been outstanding. I feel the outcomes for the child were greatly improved because of your involvement and I feel more confident to support SEN families in the future.”
How to request support from the EYSEN Specialist Teaching Service
A request for specialist teacher support can be made through the SENIF evaluation form when funding is reapplied for to support a child or by using the Early Years SEN Panel Request for Support Form. A request for support should only be made after discussion and agreement with parents/carers. Further information and forms can be found by visiting:
Specialist Teacher Service criteria
Specialist Teachers within the EYSEN Service support children who attend any Derbyshire contracted Early Years provider (except for children enrolled in a reception class) and have:
- significant developmental differences in more than one area of learning (Cognition and learning, communication and language, physical development, personal, social and emotional development) and who
- after receiving targeted support, continue to face considerable challenges, with needs that affect their ability to engage with the early years curriculum.
The work forms part of the graduated response to each child's needs at specialist level. Before requesting specialist support for a child, there will have been support provided through progressive cycles of the 'assess, plan, do, review' approach at universal and targeted levels by the setting or from other professionals.
To discuss a possible request for specialist teacher support with a senior specialist teacher or the EYSEN Lead Officer, please contact CS.EYSENservice@derbyshire.gov.uk