Early Years Toolkit

The aim for all Education and Health Care professionals working with children in Early Years is to provide the right support at the right time. Professionals are increasingly aware that children make accelerated progress when the correct intervention is given at the earliest point, and when the child and their family are placed at the heart of the process!  

In Walsall’s LA, Health and Education colleagues have worked together to evolve and enhance ‘The Early Years Strategy Bank for Inclusion’. This toolkit was originally developed in 2018 in response to the increasing demands of meeting the needs of very young children in Early Years Education Settings.  At that time, the initial consultative group comprised of Early Year’s practitioners and Advisory Teachers. By 2022, as the working relationships between health colleagues and educational colleagues developed, it was clear the toolkit was ready for an upgrade! A working team of professionals have collectively captured strategies, approaches and resources to support the children in Walsall aged 0-5 years old. 

Aim of Strategy Bank: 

• Support practitioners to identify barriers to progress for children 0-5 years old. 

• Identify the right type of support at the right time to ensure the correct provision is put in place for the child.  

• Upskill practitioners to become proactive experts in SEND support - making everyone a teacher of SEND! 

• Enhance the graduated response approaches for children 0-5 years old.  

• Enhancing referrals to health services, ensuring the 'right referral is made at the right time'.  

• Support practitioners to fulfil statutory obligations around the SEND Code of Practice, 2015. 

• Celebrate collaborative approaches between health and education.   

 Walsall Healthcare NHS teams who have contributed to the toolkit include:                                   

• Walsall NHS Speech and Language Therapy

• Paediatric Physiotherapy (Community).

• Walsall Health Visiting Team

• Paediatric Occupational Therapy

Contact Details for above teams: cdc.therapies@nhs.net 01922605810 (physio) or 01922 605820 (OT)

Walsall Educational professionals who have contributed to the toolkit include:

• Walsall Early Years Team

• Walsall Early Years SEND Team

• North Star Inclusion Advisory Team

• Practitioners working in Early Years Settings across Walsall

Useful links:

Early Years - SEND (walsall.gov.uk)

The SEND Local Offer (walsall.gov.uk)