Childcare for my 18 month old special needs son

[NatMac]

Hi All,

We are looking for childcare for our son to begin in July 2017 as we are both working parents.

Our son will be 18 months old but was born 3 months premature so will be 15 months corrected. He is very small for his age (even adjusted) and has special needs (cerebral palsy). Do any of you know of a day nursery / child minder that caters for children with special needs? We want our son to be surrounded by other children and supported to develop.

Appreciate it,

Natalie

[flocker spotter]

Have you talked to Sunshine House about getting an EHC plan for your son to see if he is entitled to one-to-one support in nursery?

[MarianaTrench]

A lot of nurseries cater for children with special needs and often even give preference to children with special needs on their waiting lists. I suggest giving a few of your local nurseries a call to see what they can offer.

[sbain]

Hi,

Here is a link to the Southwark local offer (http://localoffer.southwark.gov.uk/) which outlines services available to children with special needs in the borough.

If you haven't already you could ask your pediatrician to refer you to KIDS (portage) they support the families of children with disabilities in the borough and help with placement at nursery. We've found them really helpful. Although ultimately for many reasons we decided to opt out of nursery and my son (who has some fairly complex special needs) is at home with either me or his nanny.

We are currently going through the EHCP process for my son which tbh is a fairly annoying and inadequate process but there you go. PM me if you would like more info.

SBain.

[NatMac]

Thank you all very much for your responses - I really appreciate you taking the time. They have been very helpful.

Our son starts portage this month and is seen regularly by Sunshine House. I will ask them about an EHCP. I've contacted a number of nursery's in the area, including those on the Southwark Local offer. I am hopeful we will have a solution fairly shortly.

Thanks again.