Early Years Forum Jargon Buster

Current Acronym/Terminology

What does this stand for?

Definition/ Role

30 hours

 

Working parents in Staffordshire could receive 30 hours a week of funded childcare for their 3- and 4-year-old children.

ADD

Attention deficit disorder

Is a term used for people who have excessive difficulties with concentration without the presence of other ADHD symptoms such as excessive impulsiveness or hyperactivity.

ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Is a condition that affect people’s behaviour. People with ADHD can seem restless, may have trouble concentrating, and may act on impulse.

ADN/ AEN

Additional District Needs/ Additional Educational Needs.

School-based funding to provide additional adult support to a named child (see also SEND Inclusion funding).

AIT

Autism Inclusion Team.

Specialist Teaching Team, working in schools and PVIs to support staff working with children who have a diagnosis of Autism. 

APD

Auditory processing disorder

Sound interpretation difficulty

APDR

Assess, plan do and review

It is a graduated response which consists of a 4-stage cycle that helps to provide a growing understanding of a child or young person’s strengths and needs and what helps them to make good progress and have good outcomes.

AR

Annual Review

A yearly meeting to consider the support for a child/YP is appropriate.

ASD/

ASC

Autistic Spectrum Disorders/Condition

ASC affects how someone sees the world, processes information, and relates to other people.

ASQ

Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ-3™);

Tools used to assess the development of a child to screen children for developmental delays between one month and 5½ years.

BAS

British Ability Scales

Cognitive and educational ability tests used to assess learning and behavioural difficulties.

BCH

Birmingham Children’s Hospital

A specialist paediatric centre, caring for children and young people up to the age of 16. One of the largest Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in the country for 0–25-year-olds.

BRFC

Building Resilient Families and Communities.

Staffordshire’s version of the Troubled Families Programme designed to improve multi-agency responses to the needs of families/household where individuals are experiencing a range of difficulties share an address.

BSP

Behaviour Support Plan

A plan to help support manage behaviors which challenge.

CAMHS

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service

A support service for young people aged 18 and under. They offer support and advice for a wide range of emotional difficulties that young people may experience.

CARS

Childhood Autism Rating scale (CARS)

An autistic trail assessment tool.

CDC

Child Development Centre

A health assessment centre which provides both initial outpatient assessment and continuing treatment and support for children.

CF

Cystic Fibrosis

A condition affecting the lungs and digestive system.

CFA

Child and Family Act (2014)

Introduced a new system of supporting YP with special educational needs and disabilities.

CIC

Children in Care

Different term for looked after children. See LAC.

CIN

Child in Need

A CIN Plan is drawn up following an assessment which identifies the child as having complex needs and where a coordinated response is needed in order that the child's needs can be met.

CLLD

Communication, Literacy & Language Development

Used in reference to early years teaching to improve competence in communicating, speaking, and listening, and beginning to read and write.

CP

Cerebral Palsy

A condition which affects movement, muscle tone, balance, and posture.

CPP

Child Protection Plan

A plan drawn up by the local authority. It sets out how the child can be kept safe, how things can be made better for the family and what support they will need.

CSW

Communication Support Worker

Specialist Support Staff who have additional experience, training, and qualifications in meeting the needs of students with a diagnosis of Deafness, Vision Impairment or Autism.

CYP

Children and Young People

A general term used to cover everyone from birth to 25.

CYPAS

Children and Young People’s Autism Service in South Staffordshire

A team of professionals offering support to families across south Staffordshire around autism covering both assessment and intervention.  They support young people aged 0-19 years registered with a GP in south Staffordshire.

DAF

Disability Access Fund

£615 available to the settings of three-year olds receiving DLA to reduce barriers to inclusion.

DCD

Developmental Communication Disorder

Reduced ability to use language and speech to exchange information, thoughts, or feelings.

DLA

Disability Living Allowance

For children may help with the extra costs of looking after a child who is under 16 and has difficulties walking or needs much more looking after than a child of the same age who does not have a disability.

DLD

Developmental Language Disorder, previously specific language disorder

Is a type of speech, language, and communication need (SLCN) that affects the way that children understand and use language.

DV

Domestic Violence

Controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour. 

EAL

English as an additional language

Term used to describe anyone where English is not their first language.

EBT

Education Banding Tool

A system that supports consistency in funding for education High Needs and top-up funding to ensure decision making is with equitable distribution of resources across, and within the education sectors, for children and young people with an EHCP.

EEF

Early Education Funding

Childcare entitlement, including Think2 and universal funding.

EH

Early Help

Previously known as Common Assessment Framework. 

Process used to identify children’s unmet needs and support them.

EHA

Early Help Assessment

A standardised approach to assessing a child or young person presenting with additional needs and agreeing how those needs can best be met.  Previously known as CAF.

EHCNA

Education, Health, and Care Needs Assessment

This is the initial document submitted in the process which is then reviewed by the Early years panel who look at the evidence to decide whether they agree to assess for the EHCP. The EHCNA asks for evidence from the setting, family and any other professionals involved.

EHCP

Education, Health and Care Plan.

A legal document which includes details of a young person’s Special Educational Needs and the provision needed to meet these needs.

EHE

Elective Home Education

Is the term used by the Department for Education to describe parents’ decisions to provide education for their children at home instead of sending them to school, once they are of statutory school age. This is totally different to home tuition a term used to describe the situation when the Local Authority (LA) provides a teacher to educate a child in their home.

EI

Early intervention/early help

Individualized services for infants and toddler who present with developmental concerns.

EIO

Education Inclusion Officer

Work closely with families to identify a new school as swiftly as possible and to ensure that education is in place. We work with schools to support children who cannot attend school on a full-time basis because of their health needs.

EI Place

Early Intervention Place

Places available at special schools whilst an EHC assessment is ongoing, for children who meet criteria

Entrust

 

A joint venture with SCC and Capita providing educational services to Schools and PVIs.

EOTAS

Educated Other Than at School

It is a form of education funded by the LA for those children and young people who, for whatever reason, cannot attend a mainstream of special school setting.

EP

Educational Psychologist

EPs focus on supporting settings and families to meet the needs of children with additional or special needs.

EPDO

Effective Practice Development Officer

Each District Hub is coordinated by an Effective Practice Development Officer (EPDO).

EWO

Education Welfare Officer

Involved with children of statutory school age

EY Area SENCOs

An Area Special Educational Needs Coordinator for early years

Specialist Teacher Consultants who support PVI’s to meet the needs of children with SEND.

EYF

Early Years Forums

Group responsible for monitoring the needs of pre-school children with special educational needs in Staffordshire.

EYFS

Early Years Foundation Stage

A comprehensive statutory framework that sets the standards for the learning, development, and care of children from birth to five.

EYPP

Early Years Pupil Premium

Additional funding available to pre-school settings to support the development of children where the parents is in receipt of certain benefits or if the child has been in local authority care for 1 day or more in England or Wales or are adopted.

FF

Families First

Part of Staffordshire County Council which ensure the needs of children, young people and families across Staffordshire are identified early, and the right help is put in place and problems are prevented from escalation.

FIS

Family Information Service

A free individually tailored service offering independent quality information on any family matter.

FP

Family Practitioners

Support for families who may be facing multiple or complex difficulties. Family Practitioners can provide 1:1 support for children and young people. They can also help parents and carers with difficulties they may be having, which are affecting family life. Examples include emotional wellbeing work.

FPL

Family Practitioner Lead

Used to be known as SEND District Manager. They are Line Managers for SEND Key Workers and Family Practitioners and support in over-seeing processes and statutory deadlines.

GDD

Global development     Delay

Development delay condition.

GLD

Good Learning Development

Refers to a summative assessment judgement which is made for each EYFS child at the end of the reception year. It is a measure of attainment, not progress.

GP

General Practitioner

A medical doctor who attends to the everyday medical needs of individuals within a community, often in a surgery or home visits.

Griffiths

GRIFFITHS III, Griffiths Scales of Child Development, Third Edition

Assessment of developmental levels from birth to 6 years (72 months).

GRT

Gypsy Roma Traveller

A term used to describe people from a range of ethnicities who are believed to face similar challenges. 

D/HI

Deaf / Hearing Inclusion Team

 

A Specialist Teaching Team which provides a range of specialists to support children and young people with Deafness / Hearing Impairment.

HV

Health Visitor

 

 

 

 

Health visitors are specialist community public health nurses, (SCPHN) registered midwives or nurses. They specialise in working with families with a child aged 0 to five to identify health needs as early as possible and improve health and wellbeing by promoting health, preventing ill health, and reducing inequalities. 

IBP

Individual Behaviour Plan

School based document to support behaviour which challenges.

IEP

Individual Education Plan

Used by settings to plan interventions and teaching.  Now often referred to as a targeted plan.

IF

Independent Futures

Social care service for children and adults with learning disabilities.

IPP

Individual Pupil Profile

A summary document of the YP strengths, weakness, and any special educational needs.

LA

Local Authority

Has responsibility for education within its boundaries.

LAC

Looked After Children 

Children and young people who are looked after by the local authority.

LO

Local Offer

Information about services and resources available to Staffordshire children and families.

LST

Local Support Team

Teams are part of Staffordshire’s social care and work with children and young people with a disability or additional need and their families.

MDT

Multi-Disciplinary Team

All professionals involved with a young person meet to discuss where they are at, and the next steps.

MEAS

Minority Ethnic Achievement Service

The service aims to help schools by supporting the inclusion of minority ethnic pupils, promoting diversity, preventing discriminatory incidents, supporting new arrivals with English as an additional language (EAL) to make progress, monitoring the attainment of new arrivals with EAL, implementing best practice for newly arrived EAL learners.

NEF

Nursery Education Funding

(Previously known as nursery education grant, NEG) and now referred to as universal funding as part of EEF.

OCD

Obsessive compulsive disorder

A difficulty which can cause obsessive thoughts with associated behavior difficulties.

ODD

Oppositional defiant disorder

A difficulty which may cause a CY to respond uncooperatively to authority figures.

OT

Occupational Therapist

Occupational therapy enables of children who have either a physical disability or a motor coordination difficulty to participate in daily life to improve their health and wellbeing.

PECS

Picture Exchange Communication System

PECS is an alternative/augmentative communication system developed in the USA in 1985 by Andy Bondy and Lori Frost

PB

 

Personal Budget

 

 

Money that is allocated to individuals to meet assessed needs in place of services that would otherwise be provided directly to the individual by statutory bodies. A Personal Budget is the notional amount of money which an LA has identified as necessary to secure the special educational provision in an EHC plan.

PEEP

Parents Early Education Partnership

Parent Training

PEP (also EYPEP)

(Early Years) Personal Education Plan

A plan which supports looked after children to do well at school.

Physio /PT

Physiotherapist

Provide specialist assessment and a range of interventions to enable children with physical difficulties to reach their potential. This may be required during and following illness, surgery, disease, disability, or injury.

PIP charts

Development Charts

Assessment tool developed by Dorothy Jeffree and Roy McConkey.

PRU

Pupil Referral Unit

An alternative education provision which is specifically organised to provide education for children who are not able to attend for several reasons inclusion exclusion or illness.

PVI

Private, Voluntary and Independent Sector

Non statutory providers of nursery education.

SEMH

Social, emotional, and mental health

Previously known as BSED.

A wide range of social and emotional difficulties, which manifest themselves in many ways. ‘These may include becoming withdrawn or isolated, as well as displaying challenging, disruptive, or disturbing behaviour.’ (SEND Code of Practice, 2015, para 6.32).

SENCO

Special Educational Needs Coordinator

Manage the provision for children with SEND in their setting/school.

SEND

Special Education Needs and Disability –

When a child has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.  Often also written/spoken of as SEN.

SEND COP

Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice

Gives statutory guidance for Local Authorities, educational settings, and anyone else involved in providing services to children or young people with special educational needs or disabilities when working with children and young people (up to age 25).

SEND Key Worker

 

Coordination the compilation of education, health, and care plans.

SENDIASS

Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice and Support Service

Staffordshire Family Partnership, providing an impartial and confidential service on matters relating to a child or young person’s special educational needs or disability from birth to 25 years.

SENDIST

Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal

First-tier tribunal responsible for handling appeals against local authority decisions regarding special educational needs

SEND Inclusion Fund

 

Additional support available to pre-school settings to meet the needs of children who meet criteria.  Described as tiers 1, 2 and 3.

SLCN

Speech, Language and Communication Needs

 Difficulty in communication.

SLT

Senior Leadership Team

A management team within school settings.

SLT (SaLT)

Speech and Language Therapist-

Assess and treat speech, language, and communication problems in people of all ages to enable them to communicate to the best of their ability. They may also work with people who have eating and swallowing problems.

SI

Sensory Integration

The process by which we receive, process, and organise information for everyday activities.

SOGS

Schedule of Growing Skills

Assessment of developmental levels from ages from birth to 5 years.

SPA

Single Point of Access

Collects information, agrees to initiate Education, Health, and Care assessments, and agrees additional funding for children without EHCs.

Statutory School Age

 

Children must start full-time education once they reach compulsory school age. This is on 31 December, 31 March or 31 August following their fifth birthday - whichever comes first. If the child’s fifth birthday is on one of those dates, then they reach compulsory school age on that date.

TAC

Team Around the Child

A multi-disciplinary team of practitioners established on a case-by-case basis to support a child, young person, or family by assessing their needs and deciding with the child/family a course of action to provide the services needed.

Think2

 

Free childcare (up to 15 hours) for children who meet certain criteria from the term after their 2nd birthday until the term after their 3rd birthday.

TOD

Teacher of the Deaf

 

TOVI

Teacher of the Visually Impaired

 

Triple P

Promoting Positive Parenting

A multi-level, evidence-based parenting, and family support strategy.

Universal Funding

 

All 3- and 4-year-olds are entitled to 15 hours per week of funded places from the term after turning 3 years old.

VI

Vision Inclusion Team / Vision Impairment

A Specialist Teaching Team and rehab officers who support children and young people with a range of vision loss. The team offers help to people with sight loss that impacts significantly on educational access / wellbeing.

VS

Virtual School

Monitors the education of individual children in care as if they were in one school. They offer support and advice for children who have left care or have a social care involvement. The Virtual School works with schools, social care partners, parents, and carers to help improve education outcomes for children. 

WPPSI

Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence

A standardised assessment aimed to measure the cognitive development for children ages 2 years and 6 months to 7 years and 7 months.

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