 Every year, the Portsmouth EY Inclusion Team ask you to complete the annual SEN audit by listing the children in your setting who are presenting with additional needs. This year we have simplified this process to make it easier and quicker for you to complete.
The Audit of Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) - Early Years Provision 2026-27 Survey is now open.
Please complete the survey by the deadline, in order to share information about SEND provision within your setting. This helps to build a clearer picture of needs across Portsmouth. It also enables you to request support for your setting from the EY Inclusion Team and to help us deploy our Outreach Officer (Susan Cooke) and wider team (Sue Bowler, Ella Harbut, Kate Wharton and Lucy West) to answer your SEND questions and support you in meeting the needs in your setting.
Please note: this is not for Year R children in school.
Deadline: Monday 12 October 2026
Thank you for supporting this important work and helping to shape services for children with SEND and their families.
 The updated Portsmouth Early Years SEND Pathway 2026-27 is now available for early years providers.
This pathway has been developed to support practitioners in identifying, assessing and meeting the needs of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). It brings together key information, processes and guidance to help settings provide timely and effective support for children and their families.
The document outlines available support, referral routes, and the graduated approach expected within Portsmouth, helping practitioners navigate SEND processes with confidence and consistency.
We encourage all early years settings, including nurseries, preschools and childminders, to familiarise themselves with the pathway and share it with relevant members of their team. It will serve as a valuable reference throughout the year when supporting children with SEND and working alongside families and partner agencies.
 The SEND Guidance for New Early Years Providers has been updated and is now available to download. This guidance provides useful information to help new providers understand their responsibilities and approaches to supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) within their setting. We encourage all new early years providers, and existing providers who would like a refresher, to review the latest version of the guidance.
By familiarising yourself with the updated guidance, you can help ensure children with SEND receive the support they need to thrive in their early years education.
 Over the autumn term, we will be holding a series of consultation sessions with children and young people, families, schools, settings, practitioners and partners across Portsmouth. The feedback gathered will help shape the city's priorities for SEND services and support over the next five years.
Invitations are being issued to a range of stakeholder groups, including a session at the Early Years SENCo Network on 13 October, 10.00am - 12.00pm. To book your place and be sent the Teams link, please email: eyworkforce@portsmouthcc.gov.uk.
If you are not able to make the EY SENCo Network and would like to join another session, please contact Nikki.Ledwidge@portsmouthcc.gov.uk and we will ensure you receive details of an alternative consultation opportunity.
Many thanks.
Keran Currie, Head of Inclusion
Children, Families and Education
 We love hearing about the positive developments taking place in early years settings across Portsmouth. It's always encouraging to see settings investing in their environments to support children and families, and we're delighted to share this update from Highbury Primary School Nursery. Becca and her team have kindly shared photographs of their latest improvements, which showcase the exciting opportunities being created for young children in their care.
    "We are incredibly proud to have successfully expanded our nursery provision through the School-Based Nursery Funding programme. The new space has enabled us to increase capacity and enhance our offer for local children and families, helping us to meet the growing demand for high-quality early years education and childcare within our community.
The additional room has been thoughtfully designed to provide a safe, nurturing, and stimulating environment where children can learn, develop, and thrive. It is wonderful to see the space already being enjoyed by the children and staff, and we are excited about the positive impact it will have for many years to come".
Becca Frost, Nursery Manager and DDSL
 Early Years Quality and Sufficiency Officers, Layla Riches, Hannah Rapley (pictured above) and Vicky Taylor, along with Early Years Business Support Assistant, Carol Morgan, recently attended the careers and apprenticeships show. This event was attended by hundreds of young people from local secondary schools keen to explore career pathways. We had a fantastic day promoting different careers in the early years sector and starting routes for young people such as college course and apprenticeships. We hope we have helped inspire the next generation of Portsmouth Early Years Practitioners.
 The next Early Years Parent/Carer Hub will be on Thursday 8 October 9.30am until 11.00am at the Havelock Centre. This session will have some Aided Language Display Boards for parent/carers to look at and take away if they would find it helpful. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions about communication support strategies or any other concerns they would like to seek advice about. The ND team will also be there for a chat.
 Please see posters at the buttons below with details of iHV Perinatal Mental Health and Father’s MDT training dates. To book a place, please email hiowh.portsmouthhv-snservice@nhs.net stating your name and the date/name of training you wish to book onto. Tea and coffee will be provided but attendees will need to bring/buy their own lunch.
 Please help us spread the word about the support available through Portsmouth's Family Hubs by sharing the latest timetables with parents and carers in your setting. The timetables provide details of local activities, groups and support services for families with young children.
View the latest Family Hub timetables here:
Thank you for helping families connect with the support and opportunities available in their local community.
 Balancing Learning Opportunities with Safety
Many early years settings use real food as part of role-play, sensory play and other continuous provision experiences. Real food can provide rich opportunities for children to explore textures, smells, tastes and real-world experiences. However, providers should be mindful that once children begin eating food as part of play, the same statutory safety requirements that apply at snack and mealtimes also apply. While this may appear harmless, eating should never take place unsupervised.
The EYFS statutory framework's safer eating requirements are clear:
- Children should be seated in an appropriate chair and eat in a designated eating area where distractions are minimised.
- A member of staff must always be within sight and hearing of children while they are eating and, where possible, should be positioned facing them to enable close observation.
- A practitioner with a current Paediatric First Aid (PFA) certificate must be present in the room whenever children are eating.
These requirements are particularly important because choking can occur quickly and silently. Children carrying food around the setting, eating while moving between activities, or helping themselves to food without supervision can significantly increase risk.
When planning activities that use real food, providers should carefully consider whether children may be tempted to eat the items. If so, arrangements should be in place to ensure eating only takes place in a designated area, under appropriate supervision and with a PFA-trained practitioner present. Settings may wish to review their continuous provision and risk assessments to ensure that the use of real food supports learning while remaining fully compliant with the EYFS safer eating requirements.
Key Message: If children are eating real food during continuous provision, the same rules apply as they do at snack time. Children must be seated, closely supervised, and a Paediatric First Aid-trained practitioner must be present in the room. Unsupervised eating during free play is not in line with the statutory safer eating requirements.
 October marks Black History Month in the UK, providing an opportunity to celebrate the achievements, contributions and histories of Black individuals and communities, while helping children develop an appreciation of diversity and inclusion from an early age.
To support your planning and activities, take a look at these useful resources:
Birth to 5 Matters
Explore ideas and guidance to help embed Black history, culture and diverse representation throughout the early years curriculum.
N Family Club
Discover practical activities, book recommendations and inspiration for celebrating Black History Month with young children.
National Literacy Trust
Find a wide range of books that celebrate Black stories, experiences and role models, helping children see themselves reflected in the books they read and enjoy.
We encourage settings to explore these resources and consider how Black history, culture and diverse representation can be celebrated throughout the year, not just during Black History Month.
 You can now explore the final term of activity for the official schools and settings offer - it’s not too late to Go All In!
Focusing on the theme ‘in the community,’ Autumn Term aims to take reading beyond teaching spaces to celebrate the vital roles that families, libraries, local organisations and wider communities play in fostering a love of reading in young people.
What’s included?
- Free CPD webinars and resources
- Broadcast Go All In Together! Events for your children and young people
- In-person events and conferences across the UK
- Rewards and prizes for participation
Get involved
The free platform is flexible and easy to use, with content shaped to build on and support your setting wherever you are on your reading for pleasure journey. You can pick and choose activity that suits your needs, as well as catch up on content from the Spring and Summer Term.
If you’re already taking part, login in here and start exploring.
If you’re new, you can start your National Year of Reading journey at any time, sign up here today and join the 6,500+ schools and settings already going all in on reading.
 Two new questions have been added to the Ofsted blog post Early years inspections: frequently asked questions. This blog post now answers the questions:
- What happens when you inspect without notice?
- How will you look at safer sleeping, weaning and eating on inspection?
Subscribe to receive the latest updates.
 The many and significant challenges posed by screen use in early childhood is increasingly one of the biggest conversations taking place in our sector right now.
And 50 Things To Do want to make sure that your voice as a practitioner is at the heart of it.
They've put together a short survey so that you can have your say about it.
They want to know:
- What you're seeing in your setting
- How confident you feel about talking to families about screen use
- How 50 Things To Do is helping
There are no right or wrong answers - they're simply after honest reflections based on your personal experiences. All of it will help them shape how they respond to this unique challenge. And it won’t take you any longer than 10 minutes to complete.
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