Early Years Education in Kent – supporting settings to embed inclusive practice

Welcome to our consultation on a model for universal, targeted and specialist support in early years.

This model will help early years settings to embed inclusive support for children and builds on existing good practice.

We believe every child deserves a high-quality education in their early years. The benefits of such an education can be seen throughout early childhood itself and into the outcomes achieved throughout their time in education and beyond. A high-quality early education is particularly beneficial for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

We are committed to improving inclusion in mainstream education for children with SEND. The model of support we are proposing will improve our universal offer in early years education and provide a simpler, streamlined approach to how targeted and specialist services are accessed to support children aged 0-5 with additional needs.

The proposed model aims to ensure the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children have their needs identified accurately and assessed in a more timely and effective way, so they receive the right support, in the right place and at the right time.

In the consultation document you will find details about the proposed model, as well as background information and what’s happening locally and nationally in relation to early years education.

Have your say

We want to know what you think about the proposal and how it could impact you.

We are hosting several online forum events where you can find out about the proposed changes, give your feedback and ask your questions. To book your place, please use our booking form.

Please tell us what you think by completing the online questionnaire on this page. Alternatively, you can find the Word version in the Documents section which you can download and email to us (or print and post).

What happens next?

After the consultation closes, feedback from the consultation, along with the Equality Impact Assessment, will be presented to the Children, Young People and Education Cabinet Committee before a decision is made by the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills and the Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services.

We will publish a consultation report on this webpage, summarising the consultation responses. An email will also be sent to those who complete the online questionnaire and select that that they want to be kept informed of KCC consultations.