Some local authorities have specialist nurseries or pre-schools that cater for children with more complex needs. For example, the Jeanne Saunders Centre in Brighton & Hove is a specialist assessment and intervention nursery which local children may attend in the year before they start school. Brighton & Hove under fives with very complex needs may also attend Downs View or Hillside special schools at a pre-school age.
Chailey Heritage School, near Lewes, has a pre-school class that caters for children with physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy, especially when combined with additional medical needs and Ingfield Manor School at Billingshurst in West Sussex has a pre-school and assessment service for children with physical disabilities and associated learning problems. The pre-school provides conductive education incorporating the early years’ curriculum.
The Children’s Respite Trust (who provide respite support for disabled children and their families across Sussex) recently launched Little Stars nursery provision for children aged 2 plus with SEND.
Be aware that if a specialist pre-school setting is outside your local area, the local authority would have to agree to pay for your child to go there, but this does sometimes happen for children with particularly specialist needs.