Category: DP News

  • Organisational Newsletter Summer 2026

    Organisational Newsletter Summer 2026

    A message from our CEO, Catherine Mole MBE

    “What an exciting academic year for Dingley’s Promise! As we enter the summer holidays, we have twelve Centres supporting children from Worcester down to Poole, we have trained over 35,000 early years educators in how to make the mainstream more inclusive, and we have been central to governmental discussions around changes to the education system and policies.

    We continue to share our knowledge and understanding of early years SEND to inform, educate and inspire others and are making real progress in our mission to ensure every child with SEND has access to early education and support. We are excited about all of the opportunities for positive growth and change and are so grateful as ever to supporters of our charity who believe in and support our mission, to ensure that every child gets the best start in life.”

    Our Centres and Family Support: A message from our Chief Operating Officer, Lee Friend

    “I am so proud of everything our centres and family support workers have achieved over the past year, they have showed incredible dedication and commitment to making every day engaging and impactful for the children they support. Every educator has incredible knowledge and understanding of each child and family, and respond in a tailored way to every child which has a huge impact on developmental progress. The feedback we have received from families this year has been a reflection of their unique approach and the impact they make every day.”

    “Dingley’s Promise has provided us with a safe and inclusive space, where we feel valued and visible. Having a child with complex needs can be extremely lonely as a parent/carer, and I have often felt invisible. Dingley’s helped me feel seen, which as a parent has been invaluable and energised my role as a parent carer.” ~Midlands Centre Parent

    “Dingley’s Promise is the best place for a special needs child. The support is phenomenal and my daughter has thrived so much since starting there due to the Staff’s encouragement and support. She wouldn’t be the child she is now if it wasn’t for them.” ~South Centre Parent

    “We finally feel as though we have real support as a family and are so grateful for all of the help and guidance we have received. Every single person at Dingley’s has been incredibly kind and friendly, you can tell that they genuinely want to help families and children.” ~South Coast Centre Parent

    Quality & Staff Development

    This year, we have had a busy academic year exploring a variety of seasonal enhancements for the children in our centres, including Three Billy Goats Gruff, floral playdough, potion making and much more! It has been exciting to see each centre customise our specialist inclusive curriculum to each child’s individual needs and interests and adapting to each child.

    In addition, the centres have been developing their sustainability practices, using our curriculum as the foundation to support children to learn and care for living things, as well as our environment. From creating “a home for bees” to sharing stories about plastic waste with “Somebody Swallowed Stanley”.

    Celebrations

    We are delighted to report that we have had 4 successful Ofsted Inspections – Poole Strong Standard, Bournemouth Expected & Strong Standard, with Droitwich & Worcester which are yet to be published, but also went extremely well.

    We have embedded our Early Years SEND Assessment toolkit, which enables a celebratory approach to identifying needs and responding quickly to these, in our centres. Dingley’s Promise developed the toolkit alongside the Department for Education last year and very much hope that it will be rolled out and used more consistently across local authority areas, where many are already seeing the positive impacts of its use. Explore the toolkit here.

    New Centres

    In September, our West Berkshire Centre moved to a new site at Spurcroft School. The team have transitioned to the new environment brilliantly. With local funding and support, as well as local authority investment and school backing, the nursery has a new outdoor area, new resources, and 2 wonderfully equipped new playrooms, which have enabled us to increase the number of children we can support.

    We opened our Tidworth Centre in January 2026 and have been developing our community connections and family support service, before welcoming new children to our beautifully refurbished new centre.

    We are looking forward to welcoming new children to our centres in September and are committed to ensuring that every child in our care receives high-quality inclusive support which helps them to thrive and that each family feels fully involved and supported in their child’s journey.

    Lee Friend – Chief Operating Officer  

    Training Impact

    We have had a fantastic year in the training team, reaching over 35,000 educators who have completed our Early Years Inclusion Training through our Comic Relief programme. The project has made a real difference in the 32 local authorities who took part, transforming the way they approach inclusion and the relationships they have with settings, who are striving to support more children with SEND.

    96.9% of practitioners feel confident in supporting children with SEND after completing Dingley’s Promise Training

    Of our registered learners, 51.3% have completed at least one course and 34.2% have completed three or more.

    We are hopeful to drive wider inclusion across more areas of England over the coming months, using the experience we have gained and consistently improving our courses, resources and information for educators. Look out for new over the next few weeks about exciting new training and CPD opportunities coming up!

    Fundraising

    Celebrating our Englefield Estate Community Fair

    What an unforgettable day! We were delighted to welcome more than 900 supporters to our Englefield Estate Community Fair, raising an amazing £10,500 for Dingley’s Promise. Thank you to everyone who helped make the event such a success – from our fantastic stall holders, entertainers and choirs, to the families, volunteers and staff who gave their time so generously.

    We’re also incredibly grateful to our generous sponsors, Irwin Mitchell, and to our wonderful hosts, Lord Benyon and the Englefield Estate team, for their continued support and hospitality.

    Click here to take a look at a few of our favourite moments from our day out at Englefield Estate.

    Big Give Christmas Challenge 2026

    Preparations are already underway for one of our biggest fundraising campaigns of the year – the Big Give Christmas Challenge 2026! This year’s appeal will raise vital funds for our Family Support Programme, which provides one-to-one support, practical advice and community outreach for families of children with SEND. Families often tell us they feel overwhelmed, isolated and unsure where to turn. Our programme is there when they need it most, helping to prevent challenges from escalating into crisis.

    Our goal is to raise £40,000, but first we need to secure £10,000 in pledges by 28 August to unlock match funding. These pledges are essential, as they mean every donation made during the Big Give campaign will be doubled, allowing us to reach even more families. If you, your organisation or someone in your network could make a pledge, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact our fundraising team at [email protected] to find out how you can help make twice the impact this Christmas.

    A huge thank you to all of our incredible supporters, volunteers and fundraisers who continue to make our work possible.

    Kate and Jo – The Fundraising Team

    Lobbying

    We have had really positive year in the political space, with opportunities to regularly feed in to the reform changes to Ministers, The Department for Education and as part of early years sector groups to directly influence change. We were delighted to see the introduction of the Best Start in Life Strategy which heavily focuses on training the early years workforce and ensuring more support for families of children with SEND in the earliest years, both key areas in our recommendations for change.

    We are currently feeding into the early years funding consultation to ensure that settings and families are able to access the funds they need to respond to a broad range of needs. We are also calling for greater sufficiency of places for children with SEND to access their full entitlements and better support for families to navigate the system. We will continue to raise the voices of families and ensure that early years remains the centre of discussions around changes to the system.

    Thank you for continuing to support our vital work which helps to build a more inclusive early years for children with SEND.

  • Early Years Engagement Events

    Early Years Engagement Events

    Dingley’s Promise is inviting parents of children with SEND under 8 to share their early years experiences and help shape national policy.

    Join us for an online session exploring the government’s new SEND proposals and feeding back directly into the consultation.

    Your voice matters! Sign up here: https://dingley.org.uk/send-reform-engagement-events/

    If you can’t attend, you can still have your say through the national consultation: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-first

  • Welcoming our new Chair of Trustees

    Welcoming our new Chair of Trustees

    We are delighted to welcome Justin Russell as our new Chair of the Trustee Board at Dingley’s Promise.

    Justin has recently retired from his role as Director General for Families and Children at the Department for Education where he led the Department’s team responsible for every aspect of policy, funding and delivery relating to early years provision and childcare; children’s social care; free school meals, breakfast clubs and holiday activity provision and school attendance. Earlier in his career he had a range of roles in government including as a senior home affairs adviser to two Home Secretaries and Prime Minister Tony Blair in the No 10 Policy Unit and as the Chief Inspector of the Probation Service.  He has also volunteered for a range of organisations and was a non-executive director for Turning Point. He lives in Bristol, enjoys cycling, hiking in the Brecon Beacons and football and has two grown up daughters.

    Justin said “I am delighted to have been selected as the new Chair of Dingley’s Promise and to have been given the privilege of working with Catherine and her talented team for an organisation which shares my passion for giving the best possible start in life to children with special educational needs and disabilities. With new funding and an increasingly strong government commitment to early years SEND this is a really exciting time for Dingley’s Promise, full of great opportunities for the future, which I’m proud to now be a part of.”

    Justin brings a huge amount of experience to this role and a real passion for early years education. We are delighted to have his input and strategic direction at this pivotal period of growth and influence for Dingley’s Promise.

    Catherine Mole – CEO Dingley’s Promise

  • Big Give 2025

    Big Give 2025

    This Christmas, you can be the missing ingredient in the perfect recipe needed to give children with special educational needs and disabilities the best start in life. We’re raising £70,000 through the Big Give Christmas Challenge to fund our Transitions Support Programme, investing support, resources and time to ensure that children with SEND can start school with confidence and have everything in place to thrive.

    For only 7 days between 2nd and the 9th of December, every donation is DOUBLED at no extra cost to you. Your £25 becomes £50. Your £50 becomes £100. That means twice the support for children, parents and educators and twice the impact.

    Donations must be made through the Big Give website during this time only to be matched.

    Donate now & double your impact: Breaking the Cycle: Supporting Transitions – Big Give

  • Reflections on the last year

    Reflections on the last year

    Every year when I sit down to write my section of our Impact Report, I reflect on what an incredible year of growth and development we have had. As this annual report reflects, we have once again seen significant growth in all areas, taking the charity in new and exciting directions.

    This year, I celebrate a decade in my role as CEO of Dingley’s Promise, and I have reflected on the huge changes within the charity and its wider impact during this period. When I became CEO, we supported children through three specialist centres in Berkshire. Today, we have ten centres
    reaching over 500 children a year, over 28,000 learners on our early years SEND inclusion training, and contribute to policy development at the highest level, advising Government officials. We are now the largest provider of specialist early years centres in the UK and are widely recognised as the voice of children with SEND in the early years and their families.

    Throughout this growth, we have worked with incredible people who believe in the power of inclusion and support our aims and mission. The children and their families, who we are honoured to be able to support at such an important time in their lives. The strong team of committed and passionate professionals we have brought together in our organisation. The local authority teams, health professionals and education professionals we work alongside to give children the best start in life. Our amazing donors and supporters who contribute financially and in kind, to make sure we can
    give the children and families everything they need. Lastly, our organisational partners, who help us to facilitate change and impact at a national scale and the decision makers who work with us to ensure children with SEND in the early years are prioritised.

    Please join me in celebrating our progress this far and in looking forward to the future and continued growth and success of Dingley’s Promise. Over the next few years, I expect to see the number of services we offer in England through centres and our family support outreach programme to grow
    considerably. I am excited to see our training gain momentum across the early years workforce and our influence lead to more national policy change, which directly benefits children with SEND and their families.

    I am so proud of everyone who has made this possible, and we will continue to champion the voice of children with SEND and their families in everything that we do.

    Catherine Mole MBE – Dingley’s Promise CEO

    You can read the full Impact Report here.

  • Dingley’s Promise welcomes interim Chair of Board Sarah Clarke

    Dingley’s Promise welcomes interim Chair of Board Sarah Clarke

    Sarah became a Trustee of Dingley’s Promise in 2023 and is proud to contribute to their mission of ensuring every child has the best start in life, while championing inclusion and supporting families to thrive.

    Sarah is a dedicated parent carer of two neurodivergent teenagers, each with very different needs and diagnoses. Her personal family journey, alongside the experiences of other families she has met along the way, has been the driving force behind her commitment to improving outcomes for children, young people, and their families.

    She first became involved with her local Parent Carer Forum in 2015, quickly stepping into the role of Chair, and later becoming Joint CEO when the forum transitioned into a charity. Sarah’s leadership has always been solution-focused, building constructive partnerships with stakeholders to drive positive change.

    In 2020, Sarah joined the National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF) as the South East Regional Director, supporting 19 Parent Carer Forums across the region. In this role, she worked regionally and nationally with key partners, including the Department for Education, health bodies, and local authorities. In Spring 2023, she was appointed Co-Chair of the NNPCF, further strengthening her influence in shaping national policy and practice.

    Her lived experience, combined with her leadership skills and commitment to collaboration, continues to guide her work in championing the voices of families and ensuring meaningful change. We are delighted that Sarah has agreed to lead our Board of Trustees as an interim chair and are excited about the vision and direction she will bring.

  • Housebuilder David Wilson Homes raises over £40,000 for Dingley’s Promise as their Charity of the Year

    Housebuilder David Wilson Homes raises over £40,000 for Dingley’s Promise as their Charity of the Year

    Staff at Hungerford-based housebuilder David Wilson Homes Southern have completed a full year of fundraising for Dingley’s Promise as their charity of the year, raising an incredible £41,900.

    Over a 12-month period ending in July 2025, employees from across the business came together to take part in a wide range of fun and charitable activities to support the Berkshire-based charity, which delivers nursery education to children under five with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and provides vital support and advice to their families.

    The total raised by staff has been matched by the housebuilder’s parent company, Barratt Redrow, further boosting the support for Dingley’s Promise and its services across the region.

    Catherine McLeod, CEO at Dingley’s Promise, said: “We are delighted to receive such a generous donation, thanks to the fundraising efforts of the team at David Wilson Homes. Raising such an incredible amount of money will allow us to provide even more opportunities to children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in the early years across Berkshire. Our early support gives children the best start in life and gives families direction and strategies needed to fully support their child’s educational journey. A huge thank you to everyone involved.”

    Among the key fundraising highlights was a charity football tournament held at Reading Goals Sports Complex, which saw 16 teams – including many David Wilson Homes employees and sub-contractors – go head-to-head in a lively and well-attended competition.

    Another popular event was a furniture sale at the housebuilder’s Abbey Fields development in Abingdon, where employees were invited to browse and purchase stylish pieces from the four bedroom Holden show home, all hand-picked by professional interior designers.

    In the run-up to Christmas, the team took part in a Christmas Jumper Day, donning their festive woollies in support of the charity

    The housebuilder also made a number of thoughtful donations during the year, including 40 Easter eggs gifted to Dingley’s Promise’s West Berkshire centre in Newbury to help bring a touch of seasonal cheer to children using the service. A diverse selection of interactive books was also donated to the centre to help expand its library and provide engaging resources for children with SEND. A team from David Wilson Homes’ Commercial department also rolled up their sleeves for a charity car wash, showing plenty of spirit as they grabbed sponges and buckets to clean vehicles and raise more money for the cause.

    Campbell Gregg, Managing Director at David Wilson Homes Southern, said:

    “It’s been an absolute pleasure for us to partner with Dingley’s Promise over the past year. From football matches and furniture sales to car washes and even getting ‘gunged’ – the team has thrown themselves into every activity with real enthusiasm. Dingley’s Promise provides an essential service to families across Berkshire, and we’re proud to support its work and help raise awareness of the importance of early SEND support. We hope the funds raised will make a real difference to the children and families the charity helps every day.”

    Dingley’s Promise runs specialist centres across the South of England which focus on developing personalised strategies to support the learning and development of children with SEND. By offering early intervention and inclusive education, the charity ensures every child receives the best possible start in life. Local fundraising and partnerships with local businesses are vital to ensure that the charity can continue to transform young lives. If you’d like to discuss a charity partnership of the year or other fundraising opportunities please contact our Head of Fundraising Kate [email protected]

  • Supporting Childminders with Inclusive Provision

    Supporting Childminders with Inclusive Provision

    Catherine McLeod MBE, for A Brighter Start, East London’s Early Years Stronger Practice Hub

    Inclusion is about creating an environment where children feel they belong, are valued and have a unique place. This is a tough but crucial challenge. It takes time, commitment, and a willingness to evaluate and adapt practices and attitudes. The reward, however, is great: a more equitable, supportive, and thriving community for all children.

    Childminders as the preferred choice of setting

    Many families of children with SEND select a childminder setting. The smaller numbers and home-like atmosphere can be especially suited to meet the child’s unique needs. Childminders are in a good position to approach the day at a pace that supports the child providing the right support at the right moment. In practice, this may be as simple as having the time to sit on the sofa with a child and their comforter, or favourite blanket and pillow, listening to their favourite song as you support them to regulate.

    The role of parents and carers

    Recognising the role of parents and carers in the lives of children with SEND is critical. This involves giving them a voice and valuing their insights and contributions. It is important to respect parents and offer non-judgmental support as they learn to accept and navigate the complexities of their child’s needs. Some days may be more challenging than others. It is important to provide a listening ear when parents drop off or pick up their child so that they know there is a safe space for them to express what is happening in their lives. It may be that their child didn’t sleep well which causes them to be easily upset and require more input throughout the day. Reassurance about the support you have in place for their child will go a long way. Some families find it difficult to know how to access support from each other and other services. They can benefit from the childminder’s knowledge – sitting down together for a talk or going for a walk can be useful. They may also like to join in the play during their child’s session.

    A collaborative approach with parents empowers them to make informed decisions and feel confident in their efforts to support their child. The EEF highlights the importance of working in partnership with parents: Working with parents to support children’s learning

    Learning opportunities

    It is important that childminders (along with all early years professionals) are ambitious about each child’s learning. Professionals must not reduce their expectations of the child simply because they have an additional need (temporary or more permanent). Help for Early Years Providers (DfE) states that professionals need to, ‘Support every child to achieve their best outcomes including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)’. Importantly, they point out that not all needs will be long term, but where there is any concern, activities should be accessible and support the child. We might, for example, see this in a child who is not used to playing with others – they may not understand turn-taking or how to cooperate with other children. This does not (necessarily) mean they have SEND, but they will need additional support to develop these early social interactions.

    Similarly, some children with SEND may have communication and language difficulties, requiring additional help. Development Matters provides many examples of how to support babies’ and children’s communication and language development working in partnerships with parents and carers.

    A useful resource for Childminders

    In November 2024, the Department for Education, in collaboration with Promise, developed The Early Years Assessment Guidance. This is a practical, early years SEND assessment resource that uses a child-centred, strengths-based approach to assessing children’s needs. It includes:

    • Promoting inclusive practice for all children, rather than waiting on a diagnosis
    • Resources to use when assessing children’s abilities
    • Tailoring a curriculum that responds to the child’s needs and strengths
    • Targeted support to achieve learning goals and better long-term outcomes
    • The ‘ Graduated Approach ’ (Assess, Plan, Do, Review)
    • Facilitating liaison with parents, carers, and professionals
    • Advice on accessing further support from local authorities

    The guidance works on the basis that effective early support can lead to better educational and social outcomes. It aims to reduce delays in support and ensures children get the help they need. It is crucial for all who support children with SEND to develop an inclusive mindset and desire to promote equitable opportunities. We must bear this in mind throughout our work.

    Further reading:

     

    Catherine McLeod has been a charity leader for over 25 years, and is passionate about equity and inclusion for children and young people with disabilities. She became the Chief Executive of Dingley’s Promise in 2015 and has grown the organisation from a small local charity to a national one that delivers training and influences policy, alongside its core local support services. She was awarded an MBE in 2011 for her work with disadvantaged children, and has now become a mentor for ACEVO, a national speaker, and an advisor to a range of governmental and non-governmental bodies around early years SEND inclusion.

  • Trustee Board Opportunity – Chair of Trustee Board

    Trustee Board Opportunity – Chair of Trustee Board

    We are seeking an experienced and strategic minded individual to support our growth as Chair of our Trustee Board. You’ll be working with a dynamic and multiskilled group of trustees to help grow the charity and enable us to support even more children with special educational needs and disabilities and their families. If you’re passionate about driving change in the early years sector for all children, you can view our recruitment pack here.

    We’re very grateful to our outgoing chair Russ Fowler for his dedication to Dingley’s Promise over the last three years. We’ve seen fantastic growth and as an organisation we are looking forward to building on this with the new chair. If you think it could be you, get in touch! Contact our CEO via email: [email protected]

  • Response to Coram’s 2025 Childcare Survey

    Response to Coram’s 2025 Childcare Survey

    We are pleased to see that the report identifies the significant challenges facing local authorities across the country at the present time in relation to early education. Specifically, it highlights the lack of sufficiency for children with SEND, stating that only 29% of local authorities have over 75% sufficiency for this group.

    In previous years, the report highlighted the percentage of areas that were fully sufficient in places for children with SEND – which last year was only 6%. We would argue that changing the marker for ‘sufficiency’ to 75% or more is a dangerous reduction in expectations. For true sufficiency 100% of children should planned for, welcomed into early education successfully and supported effectively, and when we look at this number, the sufficiency has fallen again to just 4%.

    We look forward to working with the DfE and early years partners to improve the measurement of SEND sufficiency within the early years Childcare Sufficiency Assessments, to standardise the processes which support settings to access funding and respond to need, and to improving collaborative working to ensure that no child with SEND is denied access to early education.

    Read the full report here.