When we talk about early identification and intervention for children with SEND, we quite rightly consult parents, health visitors, Sencos, nursery practitioners, teachers, therapists and other professionals.
But there is another practitioner whose voice needs to be heard. The childminder.
Childminders navigate mealtimes, school runs, toddler groups, parks, friendships, transitions and all the ordinary moments in between.
And those ordinary moments can tell us an extraordinary amount about a child.
A childminder might notice that certain noises make a child cover their ears. That they communicate confidently one-to-one but withdraw when other children join them. That leaving the house is becoming increasingly difficult.
Or simply that something has changed.
These observations are not a diagnosis but together they might tell us something important.
If we’re serious about identifying children’s needs early, then we need to listen to the people who are there early enough to notice.
An important part of the picture
Parents know their child in a way nobody else ever will. Health professionals bring specialist knowledge. Teachers and nursery practitioners see children within their own environments.
The childminder holds another piece of that picture.
They don’t simply see whether a child can do something. They often see when something becomes difficult, what was happening around them at that time and what makes a difference when things go well.
They know what draws that child in, who they connect with and what makes their whole face light up.
Because understanding what helps a child thrive can tell us just as much as understanding what they find difficult.
A childminder’s responsibilities
Childminders have responsibilities around SEND and inclusion. Children with additional needs have the same right to belong, participate and access opportunities as their peers, and childminders need to make reasonable adjustments where required.
For those delivering funded early education, the SEND Code of Practice is also an important part of that picture.
But having responsibilities doesn’t mean being expected to do everything.
A childminder isn’t there to diagnose autism, decide whether a child has ADHD or become a therapist.
When we consult the early years workforce, childminders need to be in the room
Noticing something doesn’t mean putting a label on it. Their role is to know the child, notice, listen, adapt, work alongside their family and recognise when somebody else may need to be brought into the conversation.
Pause and reflect
There are moments in childminding when something simply makes you pause.
You might not know what it means – you don’t need to.
Sometimes the most important thing you can do is stay curious and ask: ‘what might this child be trying to tell me?’
What are you seeing? When does it happen? What helps? What makes things harder? And what are they already doing well?
Observing doesn’t mean sitting with a clipboard watching for everything a child can’t do.
Think about the ordinary moments you share every day. Was it noisy or unfamiliar? Were they tired or overwhelmed? Was something being asked of them that they couldn’t quite understand or communicate?
But notice those lovely moments too.
When are they happiest? What draws them in? What makes their whole face light up?
Over time, those little observations begin to build a much fuller picture.
When the smallest change matters
Sometimes, supporting a child begins with noticing what they’re finding difficult and wondering, ‘what could I change here to make this easier for them?’
It could be moving somewhere quieter or showing rather than telling. It might be waiting a few seconds for an answer or changing an activity.
We might call these strategies, reasonable adjustments or targeted support.
And surely that’s where inclusion begins.
Difficult conversations
How do you tell a parent that something has made you pause, when you don’t want them to tell them, ‘there’s something wrong with your child?’
Start with what you know, not what you think it might mean.
‘I’ve noticed this a few times recently. Have you noticed anything similar at home?’
Then listen.
It isn’t about convincing a parent that you’ve spotted something they haven’t. It’s two people who care about the same child putting what they know on the table and asking: ‘what can we understand better, together?’
Don’t over-complicate
That conversation doesn’t have to end with an answer.
Sometimes it ends with ‘yes, we’ve noticed that too’.
You may agree on one or two little things to try. Sometimes you simply keep an eye on things together.
Support doesn’t have to begin with a referral, specialist or written plan. It can begin tomorrow morning by making a small change and seeing what happens.
Did it help? If it did, perhaps you could do more of it. If it didn’t, maybe try something else.
What might we be missing when we don’t hear the childminder?
There is a formal name for this: the graduated approach — assess, plan, do, review.
Formal language can make it sound far removed from ordinary childminding when your observations take place around kitchen tables, in playrooms and on walks to the park.
It’s no less professional because it happened naturally.
Sometimes, despite those changes, that niggle remains.
That’s when the question changes from ‘what could I change?’ to ‘who else might we need alongside us?’
When more support is needed
There isn’t one referral route that works the same way in every location and for every child.
The next conversation might involve a local SEND or inclusion team, the health visitor, GP, speech and language service or another relevant professional.
The council’s local offer should also explain SEND support available locally.
And while you’re waiting for advice, a referral or assessment, the child’s needs don’t go on hold.
You keep observing, adapting, talking with their family and making sure that child knows they belong.
Perhaps the wider SEND conversation needs to do some noticing too.
What might we be missing when we don’t hear the childminder?
A childminder’s observations don’t replace those of a parent, therapist, health visitor, teacher or Senco, but when we consult the early years workforce, childminders need to be in the room.
When local SEND services design referral pathways, training and support, somebody needs to ask whether those pathways actually work for the professionals caring for children from their own home.
And when a childminder says ‘I’ve been noticing something…’ we need to listen and ensure these professionals are properly recognised, supported and heard.
