SEND and inclusion
Inclusion is now judged as its own evaluation area rather than folded into a general judgement. If you have never had to talk about it in detail, expect to.
In short
- The duty is anticipatory. Under the Equality Act 2010 you must think ahead, not react once a disabled child arrives.
- No diagnosis needed for any of it — not for reasonable adjustments, not for SEN support, not for an EHC needs assessment.
- Four areas of need, and most children sit across more than one.
- Assess, plan, do, review — the graduated approach, and it works perfectly well with three children in a front room.
- Your Area SENCo is free. Most childminders under-use them badly.
- £975 a year in Disability Access Fund for an eligible 3 or 4-year-old, and plenty of settings never claim it.
- Turning a child away because of their disability is discrimination. Be very careful here.
Guidance, not legal advice.
This is a plain-English summary to help you meet your duties well. For the authoritative position see the SEND Code of Practice 0 to 25 and the EYFS statutory framework for childminders. If you are facing a specific dispute, get advice.
What you are actually required to do
Three overlapping duties, and it is worth knowing which is which.
2010
of Practice
“Anticipatory” is the word that catches people
It does not mean predicting which child will arrive. It means having thought, in advance, about how you would adapt — your routine, your space, your communication, your outings — so that when a child needs something you are not starting from nothing.
A childminder who can say “here is how I would adapt snack time, and here is what I did when a child needed it” is meeting the duty. One who says “I’d deal with it if it came up” is not.
The four areas of need
From the SEND Code of Practice. Most children with SEND sit across more than one, which is why labelling a child by area is less useful than describing what they find difficult.
- Communication and interaction — speech, language and communication needs; autism; developmental language disorder.
- Cognition and learning — general or specific learning difficulties, global developmental delay.
- Social, emotional and mental health — including attachment difficulties, and behaviour that communicates an unmet need.
- Sensory and/or physical — hearing or vision impairment, physical disability, sensory processing differences.
For under-fives, resist the label
At two or three, very little is diagnosed and much is still emerging. You are far better placed describing what you observe — “finds transitions extremely hard”, “uses around ten words” — than reaching for a category. Description is what other professionals can act on. Categories are what they will decide.
The graduated approach in a home setting
Assess, plan, do, review. It is often taught as though it needs a nursery’s systems. It does not.
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Assess
What exactly is difficult, and when? Not “struggles socially” but “leaves the room whenever more than three children are in it, since September”. Include what the parent sees at home — it is often different, and that difference is information.
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Plan
Agree with the parent what you will try, who does what, and when you will look again. Two or three specific things, not a wish list. Write it down — half a page.
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Do
Actually do it, consistently, for long enough to tell. A strategy tried for four days has not been tried.
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Review
Did it help? What will you keep, change or escalate? Then round again. The record of these cycles is your evidence — both at inspection and if an EHC needs assessment is ever requested.
What this looks like on paper
Half a side per cycle. Date, what you noticed, what you agreed with the parent, what you did, what happened. Four of those over a year is a powerful document — and it is the single most useful thing a parent can attach to an EHC needs assessment request.
You are not creating it for Ofsted. You are creating it because it works, and because one day someone will need it.
Reasonable adjustments — real examples
“Reasonable” takes account of your size and resources. A childminder is not expected to install a lift. Most useful adjustments cost nothing.
Things that genuinely help, and are genuinely reasonable
- Warn before transitions — a five-minute and a two-minute warning, every time, using the same words.
- Visual support — photos of the routine on the fridge, a now-and-next card. Free to make.
- A quiet corner a child can take themselves to, and permission to use it.
- Adjust the sensory load — skip the soft play session, go to the park at a quieter time, turn the radio off.
- Change how you give instructions — one step at a time, name first, get down to their level, allow ten seconds.
- Accept a communication method — pointing, signing, a picture card. Using it does not delay speech; it usually helps.
- Adapt mealtimes — a safe food always on the plate, no pressure, separate bowls if mixing is distressing.
- Extra handover time at pick-up so the parent and you stay consistent.
Write down what you tried and whether it worked. That record is the evidence of an anticipatory duty being met.
The conversation with parents
This is the part childminders find hardest, and it is worth being deliberate about it.
Do
- Raise it early and in person. Not in a progress check, not by text, not at the door with three other parents there.
- Lead with the specific and observable. “He’s said about ten words since May” lands differently from “I’m worried about his speech”.
- Ask what they see at home. Genuinely ask. They may be relieved, or they may see something entirely different.
- Be clear you are not diagnosing. Say it out loud.
- Offer the next step — health visitor, GP, or that they can request an assessment themselves.
- Say what you will do regardless. That is what turns a worrying conversation into a partnership.
Don’t
- Suggest a diagnosis. Ever. Not even “I wonder if it might be…”
- Compare their child to another child in your care.
- Wait for the parent to raise it first.
- Let a difficult reaction stop you. Some parents need to go away and come back. Leave the door open.
Who can help, and the funding
- Your Area SENCo. Employed by the local authority to advise settings, free to you, and dramatically under-used by childminders. If you have never contacted yours, that is the single highest-value call on this page.
- The Local Offer. Every council must publish what SEND support exists locally.
- Disability Access Fund — £975 a year from April 2026 for a 3 or 4-year-old on Disability Living Allowance who takes up any funded hours. Paid to one provider the parent nominates. Ask the parent whether they receive DLA; many settings never do, and the money goes unclaimed.
- Inclusion funding. Councils hold additional funding to support children with SEND in early years settings. Criteria vary; ask your Area SENCo.
- Speech and language therapy — in many areas you can refer directly, or support the parent to. See our guide on a two-year-old who isn’t talking.
Evidencing it at inspection
Inclusion is now evaluated in its own right, so expect a proper conversation rather than a passing question.
Have one real story ready
Pick a child you have actually supported and be able to tell it end to end, without notes:
- What you noticed, and when
- How you raised it with the parent, and what they said
- What you put in place, specifically
- Whether it worked, and what you changed
- Who else you involved — Area SENCo, health visitor, therapist
- Where that child is now
One told well beats a folder. If you have never had a child with identified SEND, say so honestly and describe what you would do — that is the anticipatory duty, and it is a legitimate answer.
Note that this does not mean producing new paperwork. Ofsted’s position on tracking and assessment records has not changed — see the paperwork you can safely stop doing. What has changed is how much of the conversation is about inclusion.
Saying no — and where the line is
A genuinely uncomfortable section, and worth being straight about.
You can decline a place for ordinary business reasons — you are full, the hours do not work, you do not cover that age. You cannot decline because a child is disabled. That is discrimination under the Equality Act, and “I wouldn’t be able to meet their needs” is not automatically a defence when you have not explored what adjustments would make it possible.
If you are genuinely unsure you can meet a child’s needs
- Have the conversation before you decide. Meet the child, talk to the parent, find out what is actually needed.
- Ask your Area SENCo what support and funding exists. The answer often changes the picture.
- Consider adjustments properly, and write down what you considered.
- If you still cannot, be honest about the specific reason, record your reasoning, and help them find someone who can.
The record matters. A childminder who considered adjustments, sought advice and documented the decision is in a completely different position from one who said no on the phone.
The commercial point, since nobody else says it
Parents of children with additional needs struggle badly to find childcare, and they talk to each other. A childminder with a genuine reputation for inclusion does not usually have vacancies for long — and our directory asks providers directly whether they take children with additional needs, because it is the question parents most want answered.