Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Information for children and young people with SEND, and guidance for families and carers. 

Leeds SEND Local Offer

The Leeds Local Offer provides information for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their parents or carers in a single place. It shows families what they can expect from a range of local agencies including education, health and social care. 

Leeds SENDIASS

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Services (SENDIASS), provides impartial advice to children and young people with SEND, and to families and carers with concerns or queries.  

Leeds Portage service

Portage is a home visiting teaching service for families of pre-school children with additional needs

Inclusion Funding

This is funding available to early years providers to support children with SEND. The funding is for use in the setting that the child attends and will be given to the provider to be used to support the needs of individual children.

Early Years Funding for Inclusion (EYFFI) is currently used to support children aged two, three and four years of age who have high/special educational needs and meet set criteria. It is linked to the Free Early Education Entitlement and the child's eligibility for a funded nursery place. 

Special Educational Needs and Disability Inclusion Funding (SENDIF) is used to support children aged three or four years old with low level needs or emerging SEND.

Examples of spending may include:

  • additional staffing to support sessions or strategies for the child 
  • specialist training for staff
  • purchase of equipment to support strategies
Families should be involved fully in this process, speak to your provider if you are uncertain.

NOTE: From January 2025, EYFFI is being replaced with a new process linked to Education, Health and Care (EHC) assessments. Information on this is being shared with childcare settings. Childcare providers may visit the Leeds for Learning website for more information.  

Disability Access Funding (DAF)

DAF is an annual lump sum available to an early years provider to support the inclusion of children with special educational needs and/or disability (SEND) to access their funding place.

It can be used to support providers in making reasonable adjustments to their settings and/or helping with building capacity. If your child receives funded childcare and is in receipt of Disability Living Allowance, then your childcare provider can apply for funding to support their needs.

Early Start children's centre search
SEND information 
How to report concern for a child  
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