Early Years

Expectations for all settings

Adults understand children's individual needs and make reasonable adjustments accordingly.

What this may include/ look like

• Get to know and value all children as being unique, recognising the individuality of each child.
• Notice what children enjoy doing, what their strengths are and find out where their differences may lie.
• Use ongoing observations and assessments to understand their strengths and profile of need.
• Support all children at their stage of development rather than their age.
• Use children's interests to plan activities and experiences for them. 
• Ensure effective, ongoing communication with families and children, sharing information about interests, needs, preferences and key events to support consistency and inclusion.
• Adults scaffold children's emerging understanding, joining in with children's play and investigations, without taking over.
• Reasonable adjustments could include:
  • Plan opportunities for new learning based around children's existing play schemas. 
  • Explicitly teach and model how to use certain play areas (e.g. take the child to the role play area on their own at a quiet time to model how to use it).
  • Provide individualised support (e.g. headphones, wobble cushions, fiddle tools, chew tools).
  • Provide brain breaks, if necessary, for the whole group or individual child.
  • Provide required additional support for children who need it, such as a communication board, small language and attention groups to develop their language, understanding and ability to attend.
  • More detail is given about additional reasonable adjustments for each of the Broad Areas of Need in the relevant sections: Communication and Interaction - SLCN, Communication and Interaction - SCI, Cognition and Learning, Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH), Physical and Sensory including Visual Impairment and Deafness.