Nursery Plus

What is Nursery Plus?

Nursery Plus is a Devon educational outreach service which supports Early Years settings in receipt of Early Years Education Funding to meet the needs of children identified with additional or Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.  Nursery Plus is part of the continuum of SEND provision in Devon and promotes the inclusion of all children and the expectation that all children will achieve their potential.

Bluecoat is one of three Nursery Plus bases in North Devon which covers Great Torrington, Bideford and Holsworthy. Our Nursery Plus team is led by Teacher Becky Rollinson supported by Assistants Stella Turner and Leanne Watson.

Nursery Plus aims to:

Nursery Plus achieves this by supporting Early Years settings to provide high-quality early learning through:

Which children are most likely to benefit from Nursery Plus support?

 Children who:

Nursery Plus Admissions Criteria

All children must meet these criteria:

In addition to the above, children will meet either Group A or Group B criteria below:

Group A - The child meets all these criteria: 

1.    The Child is less than 12 months delayed in more than one aspect of the Prime Areas of the EYFS

2.    There is evidence that the child is making progress but this is currently not sufficient to catch up with their peers 

3.    The child does not need a multi-disciplinary assessment 

Group B 

All Group B Children MUST meet the Essential criteria and at least one other criteria listed below: 

Essential

In addition to the Essential criteria identify at least one from this list:

1.    Has been referred to the ICS single point of access for a multi-disciplinary assessment and is waiting for assessment.  

2.    Has had a multi-disciplinary assessment at the children’s assessment centre and has been discharged without further specialist intervention involved but continues to require support to make progress within the setting and ensure that their needs can be met

3.    Has emotional and social difficulties which are impacting on the child’s ability to engage in learning 

4.    The setting has significant concerns regarding the child’s development but no other services have been involved prior to starting with the provider

NB: Nursery Plus is a service that is designed to have a significant impact on children’s outcomes.  All the children must meet the criteria as set out above and all referrals will be considered based on

The criteria are to help settings identify children who may benefit from support for Nursery Plus and to enable Nursery Plus to provide an effective service that makes a difference to children based on the service aims.   

If you feel that a child would benefit from Nursery Plus but you are uncertain that the child meets the criteria then please discuss this with the Early Years Consultant.

How Are Referrals Made?

All referrals will be made by Early Years settings adhering to the criteria for referrals using a county agreed referral form.  A referral form is available to download on the Devon County Council website.

Before a referral is made it is recommended that settings should contact their Early Years Consultant to discuss the needs of the child and the planned referral to Nursery Plus.   

Referrals can be made termly and should be submitted to the local Nursery Plus team via a secure email system or by registered post by the deadline set.  

Referrals will be reviewed against the criteria by a panel on a termly basis.  


Dates for final submissions are as follows:


All Nursery Plus teams will hold a waiting list where necessary and additional local review and admissions meetings will be held where places become available throughout the year. 

When a child is allocated a place:

When a child is not allocated a place but is on the waiting list:

When a child is not allocated a place:

It is the setting’s responsibility to inform parents of the outcome of the Nursery Plus referral.

You can download this information in the Useful Downloads section below.

Useful Downloads

Nursery Plus Criteria
Nursery Plus Referral and Consent Form Privacy Notice