Early education and childcare for disabled children

Help with finding suitable childcare to meet the needs of your child and family.

Arranging childcare

It is a good idea to visit a childcare provider before making any decisions. You'll be able to ask questions, meet staff and check that the setting is right for you and your child. Our guide to arranging childcare page gives advice about questions to ask and things to think about before you decide.

There are two main types of childcare provision for disabled children - specialist and mainstream.

Mainstream settings are for both disabled and non-disabled children. Specialist provision caters specifically for disabled children.

Most mainstream childcare providers can offer places to children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. You will just need to find the right one for your child.

Search for childcare

You can use the SEN experience filter on the right hand side of your results page to narrow your search.

Paying for childcare and early education

Specialist providers

The majority of children/young people with SEND do well in mainstream provision but some children/young people need more specialist care. Oxfordshire County Council has commissioned some specialist providers to offer “out of school” care (Short Breaks) for families with children and young people who have SEN/D.

The majority of them are open to applications for children the term after their 5th birthday but you can contact the provider nearest you to find out more and how/when to apply to use their service. The main specialist providers for Short Breaks are:-

Autism Family Support Oxfordshire (AFSO)

Provides holiday activities for autistic children and young people (8–17 years) without a learning disability. These activities are available across the county during Easter and summer holidays

Branch Out

Branch Out from The Gallery Trust offers after-school club, three days a week, for disabled children and young people (5-18) and holiday activities for disabled children and young people (5 -18 years) at the following locations

Bicester (Branch-Out - Bardwell)
Witney (Branch-Out - Springfield School)
Oxford (Branch-Out - Mabel Prichard).

They also run some activities at Orion Academy in Oxford, only for pupils attending that school.

Endorphins

Endorphins run an after-school club one day a week at Kingfisher Special School, Abingdon, and they run Short Break services during school holidays and some Saturdays in term-time for children and young people aged 5-18 with SEND. These sessions run in the Thame area.

Let's Play Project, Banbury and the immediate area

The project provides after-school and a variety of holiday activities for children and young people with additional needs in the Banbury area, aged 5-18 years.

The Parasol Project, Tower Playbase in Oxford City

The project offers an inclusive holiday play scheme for disabled and non-disabled children (5-18 years). They run age-appropriate teenage activities (12-18 years) in all school holidays and during term time. All their activities are for disabled and non-disabled young people to take part in together. Their teenage users select activities. They range from creative 'in days' to adventurous canoeing days and everything in between.

Yellow Submarine

Yellow Submarine runs activities in the Witney and Abingdon areas. These are for young people aged 11-18 with mild to moderate learning disabilities and/or autism. Regrettably, they cannot support those with PMLD, complex needs, or physical disabilities. There are exciting activity days during the school holidays, including Explore Days, Multi-Sports Days, and Forest Days.

Other providers

There are also some other groups/agencies that may be able to help with other childcare.

Disability Information Officer

The Disability Information Officer can help if you are having difficulties finding what you need. They will try to help you find childcare to meet your needs and will contact childcare providers for you if needed. They will collect basic information about your child and family's needs. They'll use this information to shortlist possible childcare providers for you.

Contact the Disability Information Officer through the Short Breaks Service