This information is particularly relevant for practitioners working with children in the early years or those at a similar developmental stage. ‘Practitioners need to decide what they want children in their setting to learn, and the most effective ways to teach it.
Practitioners must stimulate children’s interests, responding to each child’s emerging needs and guiding their development through warm, positive interactions coupled with secure routines for play and learning.’ (Early Years Foundation Stage EYFS 1.16)
Websites
- Anxiety | Anna Freud offers resources for early years wellbeing, including support for babies and young children.
- Separation anxiety | Anna Freud offers resources for early years wellbeing, including support for babies and young children.
- Feelings and behaviour learn about behaviour, emotions, safety, rewards, and wellbeing activities
- Anxiety in autistic people offers information and guidance on the relationship between anxiety and autism
- Autistica provides information on the relationship between anxiety and autism
- Anxiety | Child Adolescent Mental Health Service provides information to practitioners from the NHS relating to anxiety
- Calm zone discover strategies for relaxation through breathing exercises, activities, games and videos designed to reduce stress.
Self-help Resources
- The Leuven Scale - Emotionally Healthy Schools use the Leuven Scale to assess children’s Wellbeing and involvement in your setting.
- EPS Parent_Carer Guide Supporting your child with school anxiety a leaflet written by the Oxfordshire Educational Psychology team providing support to a child with anxiety going to school.
- Self-help resources Oxford Health CAMHS contains resources on anxiety in children and adolescents
Training
Understanding Behaviour in the Early Years Understand what children may be communicating through their behaviour. Gain a deeper understanding of children’s social and emotional development, and the factors influencing this. Find out how to provide, develop and maintain an emotionally secure provision for all children.
Specialist support in setting
The Early Years SEND Advisory team work with individual children under 5 years of age who have complex learning, communication and/or social interaction differences. Individual children can be referred using an Early Support SPORFI form (docx format, 585Kb). Support is given to the family and/or the child’s early years setting or nursery class in collaboration with other agencies from education, health and social care.
The Early Years SEND Advisory team also provide universal and targeted support to Oxfordshire early years settings and schools in order to promote effective inclusion of children with SEND. Settings and schools can use the SENDCO Helpdesk to ask for ‘no names’ advice and targeted setting support.
A Single Point of Request for Involvement (SPORFI (docx format, 585Kb) is a multiagency form used to request support from various educational and health teams for children under 5 with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For further information see the Single Point of Request for Involvement (SPORFI) Flowchart (pdf format, 200KB).
Complete the SPORFI form (docx format, 585Kb) to make a request. Services that can be requested include:
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Speech and Language Therapy (feeding)
- Physiotherapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Early Years SEND team
- SENSS – Physical Disability
Health Visiting Services offer support to families at home and in the community from pre-birth until the child turns 8 years old. See information on how Health Visiting and early years settings working together.
Early Help Children’s Services Early help refers to the collaborative approach taken by all services working with children and families to provide support for a family before problems escalate. Accessing early help can address potential issues and improve outcomes for children, young people, and families. More information can be found here.
The Behaviour Inclusion team offer guidance, advice and support to aid inclusion of children in school-age classes with SEMH needs, preventing suspension and exclusion and supporting reintegration into education. Advice from Behaviour Inclusion Officers can be accessed via the SENDCO Helpdesk or the schools linked Exclusion and Reintegration Officer to support a referral.