Within its manifesto, launched today (14 November), Dingley’s Promise warns that ‘without action now, the expanded funded hours are likely to cause even greater exclusion of children with SEND, undermining the wider educational inclusion that the Government’s SEND plan aims to achieve.’
The manifesto was informed by a survey of more than 550 respondents by the charity, which it says ‘paints a bleak picture of the difficulties faced by families, settings and local authorities in giving children with SEND the right start in education.’
Key findings include:
- 27 per cent of settings reported that one year ago they were unable to offer any spaces for children with SEND, rising to 57 per cent reporting they would not be able to offer spaces following the introduction of the expanded entitlement.
- 95 per cent of settings report that the number of children with SEND is increasing, resulting in one-in-five parents saying they’ve been turned away from settings.
- 85 per cent of local authorities said they currently have insufficient SEND provision.
The manifesto outlines three key areas that need to be addressed, they are:
- For inclusion training for every member of early years staff.
- For simple, accessible and sufficient funding streams to be made available to support inclusion.
- A long-term focus on securing enough places for all children that need them.
Catherine McLeod, chief executive of Dingley’s Promise, said, ‘We strongly believe that unless there is inclusion training for all early years practitioners and simple, accessible and sufficient funding streams to support inclusion, the new entitlements risk excluding even more children with SEND. It is critical that decision makers consider the impact of the new entitlements on children with SEND and take action now to avoid creating even more exclusion of our most vulnerable children.