SENIF (inclusion fund)

Information about special educational needs inclusion funding (SENIF), previously the inclusion fund, for early years settings.

SENIF supports eligible children with special educational needs (SEN) who are accessing funded early education or childcare and receiving support from a specialist teacher. It provides additional funding to eligible early years providers to help meet children's identified needs, promote inclusion and improve outcomes.

Local authorities are required to operate a special educational needs inclusion fund (SENIF) as part of the early years national funding formula.

SENIF forms part of Lancashire's graduated approach to supporting young children with SEND in early years settings.

This guidance explains who the fund is for, how funding is agreed and how it should be used.

Many children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) do not require specialist resources or enhanced staffing to access and participate in their local early years setting. Through high-quality inclusive practice, the early years foundation stage (EYFS) and their duties under the Equality Act 2010, most early years providers can successfully support children with a wide range of needs.

Building on this existing good practice, SENIF provides additional support where children have emerging or identified SEND and require targeted intervention beyond the provision ordinarily available within the setting.

In some cases, short-term focused intervention may be sufficient to help a child make progress and improve outcomes. In others, a more sustained level of support may be required. Where this additional support exceeds what would normally be expected through reasonable adjustments and SEN Support, SENIF may be available.

For many children, SENIF will provide the additional support needed to help them make progress and participate successfully within their early years setting.

Eligible providers

All early years providers in Lancashire that are eligible to receive early education funding (EEF) may receive SENIF for eligible children.

This includes:

• local authority maintained nursery schools

• local authority maintained nursery classes

• private providers

• voluntary providers

• independent providers

• childminders

Eligible children

Eligible children are those who are receiving both:

• funded early education or childcare (9 months, 2-year-olds, or 3 to 4-year-olds)

• support from a specialist teacher through the specialist teaching service

In line with national guidance, eligibility is based on the location of the early years setting rather than the child's home address.

It is expected that SENIF will complement the use of training, advice and support ordinarily available through:

• health professionals

• specialist teaching service training

• EY SENCO networks

• other recognised professional development opportunities

SENIF cannot be used for building adaptations. Providers who are not eligible to receive early education funding from Lancashire County Council cannot access SENIF.

SENIF will only be agreed where a setting can demonstrate that it has:

• identified and evidenced the child's developmental needs and areas of delay

• clearly identified outcomes to support progress

• implemented and reviewed targeted support and interventions

• evaluated the impact of support already provided

There is evidence that provision needed / provided goes beyond both:

• ordinarily available provision

• the reasonable adjustments expected within an inclusive early years setting

SENIF is agreed through Specialist Teaching Service involvement. Settings do not need to make a separate application for funding.

Where a request for involvement from the Early Years Team is approved, SENIF will be considered for eligible children.

For children supported by specialist sensory teachers, funding may also be agreed through discussion with the relevant teacher. This may include:

• teacher of deaf children and young people

• teacher of vision impaired children and young people

• teacher of multisensory impaired children and young people

As part of the graduated approach, settings should be able to evidence the child's needs and the support already provided.

Evidence may include:

• developmental tracking

• individual provision maps

• targeted learning plans (TLPs)

• reviewed TLPs

• records of interventions and outcomes

• advice from professionals working with the child

Children with an education, health and care plan (EHCP)

SENIF is not available for children with a final education, health and care plan (EHCP), as provision to meet their needs is identified through the statutory process.

SENIF is intended to enhance provision and practice and support the implementation of evidence-based approaches that improve outcomes for children with emerging SEND.

Funding is currently paid at £83 per week for up to 38 weeks across an academic year. Funding arrangements are reviewed regularly alongside the child's progress towards agreed outcomes.

The funding is designed to help settings implement specialist advice and recommendations while also building staff skills, confidence and capacity to meet children's needs in the future.

Examples include:

Additional staffing

Additional staff time above and beyond that ordinarily available within the setting, for example:

• delivering focused interventions linked to identified outcomes

• providing structured individual support at key points during the day

• introducing and embedding approaches such as visual timetables, communication systems or targeted learning programmes

Workforce development

Training that directly supports practitioners to meet children's identified needs, including:

• Makaton

• British Sign Language (BSL)

• moving and handling

• autism-specific approaches

• Bucket Time

• speech, language and communication development

• deaf awareness

• visual impairment support

• multisensory impairment support

Specialist resources

Resources not ordinarily available within a setting and required to support children working significantly below their chronological age in their development.

SENIF should be used alongside a setting's existing budget and any other relevant funding streams, including early years pupil premium (EYPP) and disability access fund (DAF).

Where SENIF is agreed, the Specialist Teaching Service will arrange payments as soon as possible.

Payments will include all eligible weeks within the term in which funding is agreed.

Funding will continue until the end of the academic year, subject to regular review of the child's progress and ongoing eligibility.

Funding is paid on a termly basis:

• Autumn term: 14 weeks

• Spring term: 12 weeks

• Summer term: 12 weeks

Payments will be made directly to settings via BACS (private, voluntary and independent providers) or journal transfer (maintained providers).

If a child moves to another setting

Where a child transfers to a new setting during the academic year, any future funding agreed will transfer to the new setting. Settings must inform the Specialist Teaching Service when this applies.

If a child attends more than one setting

If a child attends more than one setting, SENIF is usually paid to the setting that submitted the request for Involvement (RfI).

The funded setting may choose to share a proportion of the funding with the other setting. Any such arrangement is entirely at the discretion of the settings involved and should be agreed between them.

The local authority is not involved in, and cannot facilitate or arbitrate, any funding-sharing arrangements between settings.

Education, health and care plans (EHCP)

Where an education, health and care plan (EHCP) is subsequently issued, any funding identified through the EHCP will supersede SENIF.

The impact of SENIF should be reviewed regularly as part of the child's ongoing graduated approach and specialist teacher involvement.

Reviews should consider:

• progress towards agreed outcomes

• the effectiveness of interventions and support provided

• the child's emerging and ongoing needs

• whether SENIF continues to be required

For some children, the intended outcomes will have been achieved and additional funding will no longer be necessary. For others, continued specialist support may be required to consolidate progress, although this may not always require ongoing SENIF.

Where continuation of SENIF is considered appropriate for the following academic year, and the child remains eligible, this will be agreed through the specialist teacher review process during the summer term.

SENIF must be used to support the additional provision and interventions identified through the graduated approach and evidenced by the setting.

The use of SENIF will be monitored through Specialist Teaching Service involvement with both the child and the setting.

Settings must retain evidence of expenditure, including receipts and records demonstrating how funding has been used. These may be requested for monitoring or audit purposes.

Where evidence is not available, or where funding has not been used for its intended purpose, providers may be required to repay part or all the funding received.

SENIF cannot be used to fund specific therapeutic interventions.

For a small number of children, the support required to meet their needs may exceed the provision ordinarily available within an inclusive early years setting, including reasonable adjustments and support provided through SENIF.

In these circumstances, settings can apply for enhanced SEND funding or exceptional SEND funding. These funding arrangements are intended to support children who require a significantly higher level of provision to access learning, participate in their early years setting and make progress.

A child can receive SENIF and enhanced or exceptional SEND funding at the same time.