What SENIF is

Special Educational Needs Inclusion Funding can be requested by Private, Voluntary and Independent (PVI) Pre-school Settings, Maintained Nursery Settings, Registered Childminders and Registered Out of School Providers (where the Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE) is accessed).

The SEN Inclusion Fund (SENIF) is a statutory requirement made available by KCC to enable settings, childminders and out of school providers supporting pre-school children with special educational needs to secure better outcomes. It is not designed to provide one to one support as research has shown that this is not the best way to support the majority of children.

All requests for SENIF will need to evidence that the child’s needs are recognised as requiring SEN Support as defined in the SEND Code of Practice 0 – 25.

All requests for SENIF are considered using the SENIF criteria. It is not necessary for a child to be known to a Specialist Teacher. It should however be possible to evidence that Ordinary Available Provision is embedded in everyday practice and a Reviewed Support Plan is available.

In order to apply for Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund (SENIF), provisions must complete the online SENIF Request Form.

To ensure the child meets the criteria for SENIF, provisions will be expected to provide the following:

  1. SENIF Request Form
  2. The reviewed Support Plan

Ordinary Available Provision should be embedded in everyday practice before a provision can make a request for SEN Inclusion Funding. The reviewed Support Plan should evidence that appropriate strategies, training and interventions are ongoing demonstrating the impact for the child.

A Support Plan should be created from your professional knowledge of the child and could, where appropriate, include:

  • advice received from your Early Years Quality Adviser/ Childminding Adviser
  • suggestions provided by SEN Support & Inclusion Practitioners (SIPs)
  • Next Steps from the Early Years Progress Tracker
  • advice from other professionals the child is known to
  • peer to peer support via collaborations

If the criteria are met, SENIF can be requested;

  • when attending a Kent setting, a registered Kent childminder, or registered Kent Out of Hours provider and SENIF criteria is met.
  • for a maximum of 30 hours per week pro rata on attendance and eligibility for the Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE).
  • when the child is in receipt of Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE)  in line with the Headcount dates.
  • when the child attends a Kent setting registered to take children in receipt of the Free Early Years Entitlements.

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