Four early years providers in North Yorkshire are being applauded for setting a shining example of inclusion after receiving national recognition for their outstanding support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Childhaven Community Nursery School in Scarborough, Easy Peasy Childcare in Tollerton, Partou Little Dragons Nursery and Pre-School in Harrogate, and Claire Pressley, a childminder in Selby, have all been awarded Marks of Achievement from the charity Dingley’s Promise. The accolade celebrates each provider’s dedication to creating inclusive, supportive environments where every child can thrive.
Dingley’s Promise works to give every child with SEND the best possible start in life. Its Early Years Inclusion Programme, which is available through North Yorkshire Council, offers a series of 10 comprehensive training courses delivered over five years. The aim is to strengthen the skills and knowledge of early years staff so they feel confident and equipped to meet a wide range of additional needs.
So far, 848 learners in the county have enrolled on the training, with some settings already seeing powerful results.
Childhaven Community Nursery in Scarborough, which supports up to 67 children per session, has proudly achieved the Mark of Achievement. Headteacher Kathryn Firth said the award recognises both their strong foundation of staff training and their ongoing commitment to improvement.
“We are so pleased. This award recognises the high level of staff training and knowledge we have within the nursery school which we have used to set up specialist provision to meet the needs of all children,” said Kathryn.
“The training highlighted areas we needed to do more work on to improve our offer even further and guided us to further training for staff to undertake. We want all children to succeed and we pride ourselves on being an inclusive setting. We try very hard to find ways to say ‘yes’ to children who find accessing early years provision difficult. This might be due to their understanding, their communication, their delay in moving or a physical difficulty.”
North Yorkshire Council joined the second cohort of local authorities to partner with Dingley’s Promise, with 30 now taking part across the UK. The response from practitioners has been overwhelmingly positive, with 97 per cent saying they now feel more confident in supporting children with SEND, and 96 per cent believing they can support more children as a result of the training. Meanwhile, 99 per cent would recommend the course and 98 per cent are committed to making a change in their setting.
Amanda Newbold, North Yorkshire Council’s assistant director for inclusion, said the training has arrived at a vital time.
“With an increasing number of young children with SEND in the county, it is vital that we support our schools, nurseries and early years practitioners with the training they need to offer inclusive education and development from the outset,” said Amanda.
“It’s great to hear the positive feedback from those that have taken up the training so far. We would encourage those who haven’t yet signed up to get in touch.”
With many early years providers across North Yorkshire now embracing inclusion and transforming lives, the hope is that even more settings will join them in ensuring every child has the support they need to shine.
For more information on the Dingley’s Promise Early Years Inclusion Programme, visit: dingley.org.uk/dingleys-promise-training/early-years-inclusion-programme
