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<p>In September 2012 we introduced a new early years progress check for children at
the age of two, as part of the reformed Early Years Foundation Stage. This will help
to pick up potential difficulties early and ensure that support plans are in place
for tackling them.</p><p> </p><p>We are working with the Department of Health to co-ordinate
the new check at age two with the Healthy Child Programme’s health and development
review at age two to two-and-a-half. The aim is to create a fully integrated early
years and health review from 2015.</p><p> </p><p>This will be supported by the reforms
set out in the Children and Families Act and the new 0-25 Special Educational Needs
and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice. These are part of wider educational reform
in England to ensure that all children and young people have access to high quality
teaching and equal opportunities, regardless of background or circumstance. The SEND
reforms aim to join up support across education, health and care from birth to 25.
Help is to be offered at the earliest possible point, with children and young people
with SEND and their parents fully involved in decisions about their support and what
they want to achieve.</p><p> </p><p>The reforms will create a more streamlined and
transparent system that gives children with SEND and their families individualised
support from birth until adulthood. There will be much more of a focus on outcomes,
not hours. Professionals will need to focus on the progress each child or young person
makes as a result of interventions, not just how much time, resource or money is being
put in to support them.</p><p> </p><p>All maintained nurseries, schools and colleges
must work with their local authority to develop a ‘local offer’. This will outline
all the support available across health, education and care, to children and young
people with SEND and what to do if things go wrong or parents and young people are
unhappy about the support they are getting.</p><p> </p><p>The new system will be introduced
from 1 September 2014 with the transition from the old to the new system to be complete
within three years.</p>
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