Dingley’s Promise, a charity that supports pre-school children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), said that without improved investment in the early years sector, particularly in workforce development, the government would be thwarted in its inclusive education drive.
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It comes as several reports have highlighted the challenges faced by local authorities to provide sufficient early years provision for children with SEND.
Dingley’s own research found that 67% of parents surveyed struggled to access early years support from their local authority, with nearly a third of respondents reporting they were turned away from at least one setting.
In addition, 41% of families said their children were not accessing their full entitlements and more than half of parents reported “low” or “very low” levels of trust in the education system following their negative experiences.
Catherine McLeod, chief executive of Dingley’s Promise, said: “We want to remove the barriers and reverse the negative culture which has developed in the early years sector, which is impacting the numbers of children with SEND who are able to access their early years education in a meaningful and inclusive way. With reforms imminent, this is an ideal time for us to share our knowledge and experience of working with families for over 40 years to ensure that their voices are heard.
“We need to be brave and invest our resources differently, making greater long-term improvements for children, families, educators and the economy”.
In addition to more funding and mandatory inclusion training for early years staff, the charity is calling for changes to the funding application process to make it simpler and more transparent. This echoes findings from a Coram Family and Childcare report last year.
Dingley’s made the call at a reception in Parliament this week to launch its survey findings.
It comes as the government is finalising plans to reform the SEND system with greater emphasis on providing support in mainstream school and early years settings.
