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SEN charity launches free online resources for early years

Inclusion SEND Practice Management Careers & Training
Special educational needs charity nasen has launched a full series of free online training resources for nurseries, childminders and schools.

Over the last six months nasen, (the National Association for Special Educational Needs), has been creating a series of online materials aimed at increasing the confidence and skills of early years staff to improve access to provision and outcomes for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

The completed series is now available to all early years practitioners, after the first two webcasts were initially released in July 2017.

More than 5,500 people have already logged in to the nasen website to access the materials, which include:

  • a ‘Focus on SEND’ online CPD course, with nine hours of training providing basic information for staff to help make their approach as effective as possible;
  • 20 short video webcasts, each focusing on a specific area of SEND in the early years;
  • four mini-guides, each aimed at a different part of the early years sector (childminders, private, voluntary, independent and governing body-led early years provision, maintained nurseries, and foundation stage classes);
  • face-to-face training materials which allow settings to implement five hours of CPD for their staff.

Nursery World is nasen’s media partner for the SEND training and resources project, which secured £315,000 of DfE funding last year with the aim of improving outcomes for more than 50,000 children in early years provision across the country.

Dr Adam Boddison, nasen chief executive, said, ‘Here at nasen, we are always committed to providing the most effective and relevant support for all those working with children and young people with SEND.

‘For 25 years, nasen has been committed to supporting a skilled and knowledgeable workforce and over the last six months, this bid has enabled nasen to lead the way in providing crucial support and training to those working in all kinds of early years settings including nurseries and reception classes so that they can begin to identify and support children with SEND.’