Starting a SEND support plan

Check a child’s information-sharing consent and start a support plan with the voice of the child.

Written byDaniel Broadhurst (Founder)|Published: 18 June 2026|
Ofsted Aligned

ℹ️Who this is for

Childminders supporting a child with additional needs. In England the tab is called

SEND

, in Scotland

ASN Support

and in Wales

ALN Support

. It takes about five minutes to start a plan.

Video Walkthrough

The SEND tab keeps a child's sharing consent, starting points and support plans together on their record. This guide shows you how to check consent and start a support plan.

1. Open the SEND tab

Go to Children and open the child. Tap Records, then the SEND tab.

Tap Manage Consent Settings. Under Current Consent Status you'll see either Consent Is Active & Verified or No Parental Consent Recorded.

If there's no consent yet, record the parent's name, choose the Information Sharing Scope (all relevant professionals, or specific agencies) and add their signature. Then tap Confirm and Grant Consent.

3. Start a support plan

Go back to the SEND tab. Next to Individual Support Plans (ISP), tap +. In Scotland this section is called GIRFEC Child's Plans.

4. Add a title and the voice of the child

Enter a Plan Title. Then fill in Voice of the Child (Mandatory): what the child has said, signed or shown you about what they want.

KinderStart won't save a plan without a title or without the voice of the child.

5. Save the plan

Tap Save Plan. The plan appears on the SEND tab with its status and whether you and the parent have signed it.

6. Check the details

Tap Show details under the plan to read the voice of the child without opening the plan. Tap the plan itself to add goals, strategies and signatures.

⚠️Consent comes before an active plan

You can't set a plan to ACTIVE, or add a parent's signature, until sharing consent is recorded. If consent is revoked later, active plans go back to DRAFT, parent signatures are deleted and past exports are removed.

Why KinderStart does it this way

A support plan is about the child, so their voice is required, not optional. Keeping consent next to the plan means you can see at a glance whether you're allowed to share it.

What to do next

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Track Your Progress
Don't get lost in the paperwork. Use our free interactive checklist to tick off each step as you complete it.

Next guide

Sending a parent questionnaire

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KinderStart strives for accuracy. Competitor features and pricing comparisons are based on publicly available information as of May 2026. Details are subject to change by respective providers.

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