Funding

To be honest I've never really thought about it as from my experience I assumed that this would of already been considered. My son is at a mainstream nursery, he has a diagnosis and an ehcp so he has a 1:1 mainly in the afternoon as per his ehcp. As long as the nursery know your child's needs I'm sure they've factored everything in funding/ staffing wise 😊. Is the EYIF different to funding the nursery can receive if the child is in receipt of DLA?

My son has only been referred for ASD pathway as he turned 2.6 months a few days ago. So I am unsure how long the diagnosis will take, I just want the funding to be used the right way and for him to get all the support he possibly can. Did you apply for a ehcp or was it the nursery? I have not applied for DLA for my son as I don’t know how to go about it, this is the only funding they have said he could get at the moment

Oh okay, we were waiting for at least a year from my sons intital assessment for the second appointment where he got his diagnosis. He was around the same age as your son but it depends on the area. The nursery done the ehcp after putting support plans in place for him which was for around 18 weeks. You can apply for DLA without a diagnosis as long as you can evidence your sons care needs, would recommend calling DLA when you decide to apply as they can put dates on the form which the application can be backdated too instead of just when they scan it in.

Ah thank you for all the info, it’s really appreciated! How was your son around this age that the nursery decided to apply for a EHCP plan? Because the way our nursery make it out it’s as if my son does not need it and will probably grow out of this phase..

The EHCP was applied for in May/June time, think it was decided from when he first started the nursery that they would have their support plans in place for the time period then apply for it cause they were fully aware of his needs when he started last January so it was something they knew that would need to be in place for school (was already under Paediatrics, speech and language plus he had gone to portage from for the term before he started so there was a handover). If you have any other questions feel free to drop me a message I know it's a minefield and when you don't have the support from the professionals it's even harder.

Yes I will message you privately thank you so much!

I’m in the same place. I haven’t worried about the staffing of the nursery as such but I know my son is getting the support he needs which is obviously helped by the funding. Obviously you can ask the nursery what their plan is! My nursery do such detailed handovers and pictures that I’m happy. I do need to apply for the EHCP for him, nursery said they would do this once he got his diagnosis (which he got in November) but I think he will need that more when he starts school- nursery seem to have all his needs met!

Hi babe, thank you so much for your input – it’s really helpful in figuring out what I need to do. When you say your nursery provides detailed handovers, what do they look like? At ours, we don’t get any handovers at all. We have to email the centre director monthly to request a catch-up, and she usually gives a brief overview of how he’s doing, as if she’s only just asked the staff in his room that day. He only attends nursery two days a week, and at pick-up, all I hear from the staff is something like, “He’s had a good day, played with play dough, slept,” just very basic information.

Sometimes my handovers can be brief but a lot of the time, they tell me what particularly they have done with him. They show me the timeline they have made so he has a visual of his day and they send regular updates of what he’s doing and achieving and actually I’ve found out today that a new person has started that will be working alongside the other person to support him more. Obviously I don’t know what your son’s needs are, mine needs more social support. He struggles with transitions and group activities so his support person will work just with him. He is also on a nursery plus scheme where someone from an outside source comes to work with him and another 3 children! I just have faith in his nursery as they seem so passionate about all the children and actually celebrate my son’s wins! Obviously I know not all people get that!

That sounds amazing, and it’s so great that the nursery is so proactive and supportive of your son’s needs. The regular updates and celebrating his wins must feel so reassuring. I love the idea of the timeline they use to give him a visual of his day—that’s such a thoughtful approach. It sounds like they’re really committed to helping him thrive. My son is at nursery too, and while his needs are different, I can totally see how important that level of care and communication is!