Early Years Support Practitioner (SEND) Service

Who We Are & What We Do

We are a team of Early Years Support Practitioners who specialise in working with pre-school children with disabilities and their families.  We offer a one-to-one key working service, where we work in a support role with families. We act as a single point of contact for a family supporting them to coordinate their care across health, education, social care, and financial resources. Our main role is to empower parents by providing them with support, resources, and information to meet their individual needs. We also run specialist intervention and support groups for children and their families.

How to get help from an Early Years Support Practitioner

If professionals feel this service would be beneficial for a family they can make a referral, parents are also encouraged to contact current professionals regarding a referral into the service if they feel this is appropriate. Referrals are made via Single Point of Entry.

What next

After a referral has been accepted a home visit will be arranged and a member of our team will talk through what support is needed and then an action plan will be made. We aim to work with families for around 3-6 months, and this is dependent on the level of need identified at the initial visit.

Groups

Our team run a variety of groups providing opportunities for families with a pre-school child with an additional need, to meet and share information all within a child friendly environment. Please contact a member of our team for further details.

Where you will be seen

Our team regularly visit families within the home as well as providing support within the groups run in the community. We also see children and families within an educational setting such as a children’s centre and can support with appointments.

Meet the Team

Our team are based at Throgmorton House and consist of the following professionals:

Alyson Harris - Integrated Children's Therapy Clinical Lead and EYSP Service Lead
Tansy Spira – Early Years Support Practitioner Team Lead
Teresa Crossley – Early Years Support Practitioner
Vikki Smith - Early Years Support Practitioner
Heather Cassemis - Early Years Support Practitioner
Clare Merchant - Early Years Support Practitioner
Jo Crook - Early Years Support Practitioner