Start the SEND Code of Practice 'assess, plan, do, review' cycle: your setting SENCO and the child's parents co-produce a support plan with autism-friendly adjustments. A diagnosis isn't needed; SEN Support follows need. Early years SEN Support is triggered by what you see in the room, not by a label, so you can act now while any assessment is still pending.
First move: open a graduated approach with your SENCO
Bring the child to your setting SENCO. Maintained nursery schools must have a designated SENCO, and group private, voluntary and independent settings are expected to identify one (SEND Code of Practice 2015, paras 5.39–5.40). Together, run the four-part graduated approach: assess what the child finds hard and what helps, plan targeted adjustments with the parents, do them consistently across the team, and reviewprogress on a set date. Write it down. A short, dated plan with two or three clear outcomes is the record that evidences your statutory duty and, later, any funding or assessment request. The graduated approach is the engine of all early years SEN Support.
The adjustments that actually help
Build the plan around the things autistic children commonly need, then tailor to this child with the parents' knowledge of what works at home:
- Predictable structure. A visual timetable and clear warnings before transitions reduce the uncertainty that drives distress.
- Communication that fits. Use the child's preferred mode, whether that is signing, symbols, objects of reference or short spoken phrases with processing time.
- Sensory adjustments. A low-arousal space to retreat to, control over noise and light, and attention to textures at mealtimes and messy play.
- A key person who knows them. Consistency of adult, and a shared profile so every practitioner responds the same way.
The funding and escalation ladder
Adjustments cost time and sometimes staffing, and there is funding for it. Ask your local authority about its SEN Inclusion Fund (SENIF), which every council must operate for three- and four-year-olds with SEN below the level of an Education, Health and Care plan. If the child receives Disability Living Allowance and takes up funded entitlement hours, they are eligible for the Disability Access Fund (DAF), paid to the setting as a lump sum of at least £975 per child for 2026 to 2027 (up from £938 in 2025 to 2026). If, after a few review cycles, SEN Support is not enabling adequate progress, the setting or a parent can request an EHC needs assessment from the council (Children and Families Act 2014, s.36). None of this waits on an autism diagnosis. See the funding figures and rules in the DfE early years funding guide.
Keep an eye on reform but do not pre-empt it. The February 2026 Schools White Paper proposes a statutory Individual Support Plan duty and narrowing EHCPs to the most complex needs by 2035, but no changes take effect before September 2030. The current SEN Support and EHCP structure is what governs your duties today.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.