Category: DP News

  • CEO Catherine McLeod on Recruitment in the Early Years

    CEO Catherine McLeod on Recruitment in the Early Years

    Last night our CEO Catherine McLeod spoke to BBC News on behalf of Dingley’s Promise about staffing and recruitment in the early years. As a sector, recruitment and retainment is a huge issue, and the struggle to find and keep good staff is having a direct impact on children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Families are being turned away from settings as they don’t have the staff to meet the child’s needs, contributing to the exclusion of children with disabilities and creating stress and anxiety for families with no support.

     

    “Early intervention is absolutely vital; the earlier we can understand their needs and how we can support them, the better life outcomes they will have”

     

    At Dingley’s Promise we recognise and appreciate the highly skilled nature of the early years workforce, however in the current climate there is a lack of funding for staff and the cost of early years settings across the country. The importance of early intervention needs to be recognised for the huge impact it can have for children with SEND; investment in the early years is life changing for children and their families. As part of the All Party Parliamentary Group, we are committed to speaking out on the challenges faced by children with special educational needs and disabilities, and will continue to push for positive change in the early years.

  • Dingley’s Promise Team Day 2022

    Dingley’s Promise Team Day 2022

    Dingley’s Promise Team Day 2022

    At the beginning of September early years practitioners, management, central and leadership staff and volunteers from across Dingley’s Promise came together for our annual Team Day! Kindly hosted by the Hilton Hotel in Reading, our wonderful team were treated throughout the day to wine and cheese tasting, personalised goodie bags, while Anne-Marie from Unlock Your Wellbeing presented an informative session on caring for yourself and improving your mindset.

    Working together to support children with SEND

    CEO Catherine McLeod shared updates about the organisation and how Dingley’s Promise is working towards expanding its Early Years specialist centres and family support offer. She also detailed the responses being made to staff feedback, ensuring that the voices of our skilled early years educators are heard and valued. Operations Manager Karen Vockins gave a refresher presentation with a focus on safeguarding children with SEND and their families, demonstrating the importance of communication and trust within our teams. Updates on our reach and plans for the range of training courses offered by Dingley’s Promise were provided by Training Programme Manager Amanda Brown. Our early years inclusive practice training aims to provide early years staff across the country with the skills to support children with SEND in mainstream settings, improving outcomes and building confidence in practitioners working with disabled children. As an organisation working towards the best start for every child with SEND, we’re excited to offer more local authorities and early years staff the opportunity to support inclusion in all settings. In the afternoon, Fundraising Manager Jo Evans hosted a 40th Anniversary planning session, with the centre teams working together to develop fundraising events for the charity’s birthday next year. Having to raise over £500,000 every year to sustain our work can be daunting, so it was wonderful to see the enthusiasm from our staff during the session. Keep your eyes peeled for our birthday fundraising events throughout 2023!

    Celebrating excellence in early years SEND provision

    Finally, our team awards recognized the hard work and long service of individuals within the charity.
    Award for Excellence – Shakila
    Award for Care – Zoe
    Award for Development – Louise
    Award for Integrity – Tanya
    Award for Empowerment – Sam
    Award for Volunteering – Ruth
    Parent Choice Awards – Jess, Sarah, Carly
    25 Years Long Service Award – Pauline
    5 Years Long Service Award – Tanya, April, Sarah
    2 Years Long Service Award – Deborah, Nicola, Emma, Georgia

    Our annual Team Days are a fantastic opportunity for our staff to meet, share triumphs, challenges and ideas, and build relationships. We are lucky to have so many dedicated, skilled individuals working hard towards creating a bright future for children with SEND!

  • Dingley’s Promise SEND Review Response

    Dingley’s Promise SEND Review Response

    Dingley’s Promise Response to the SEND Review –  

    Government consultation on the SEND and alternative provision system in England, March 2022

    Dingley’s Promise welcomes the much-anticipated SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) Review Green Paper and its commitment to bringing about major change in the current SEND system – a system that as the paper states, is currently failing to deliver improved outcomes for children and young people, is seeing the decline of both parental and provider confidence and is financially unsustainable.  

    Overall, there is an encouraging amount of focus on the early years, both in this paper and also in the Schools White Paper. Research from this paper shows that ‘high-quality early years provision for children significantly decreased the likelihood of a child being identified with SEN (Special Educational Needs) in later years.’ Stressing the important of early interventions to ensure the best long-term outcomes for children – and yet the early years remains hugely underfunded in comparison to the rest of the education system. MP Steve Brine called for early years professionals’ pay to match reception teachers’ pay in a recent debate in parliament. We would like to see more discussion around committing greater resources to the early years as much of the core investment described in the paper starts from the primary stage, with the exception of investment in training and CPD. 

    The paper recognises that the process is currently adversarial and parents fear being blamed for the needs their children have. Certainly, at Dingley’s Promise we have experienced parents being initially advised that they need parenting courses, rather than being listened to and trusted to know their children. This immediately tests the relationship between parents and professionals when they feel their voices are not being heard and their parenting skills are being challenged. The focus on the new plan on family hubs is therefore a positive one, which will hopefully establish a system of information and support around families. However, care must be taken to engage and really listen to family’s needs in this environment rather than purely imparting training. The commitment to having parents on local multi agency panels is welcomed, as in some areas this is still not commonplace, but to be effective this must include a diverse range of families and that their inputs being valued and acted upon.  

    The key area of concern remains around funding of the SEND system, new research released by the Early Years Alliance that showed 92% of early years settings have had to fund the cost of supporting children with SEND themselves – with 53% doing that on a regular basis. 28% of settings have declined a place for a child with SEND, and 14% expect the number of places for children with SEND to fall because they lack the funding to provide the right support. Dingley’s Promise have raised the issue of funding for early years send at the All Party Parliamentary Group for Childcare and Early Education, and we hope that the plans to simplify the SEND system and access to funding across the country will go some way to addressing this issue. The green paper states that there is recognition that early years’ settings are heavily impacted by local funding decisions, which they often feel they have minimal influence over.

    There will also be analysis of the use of inclusion funding in the early years addressing its ability to enable settings to provide the right support. The statistics above would certainly suggest that this in not working. Settings report specific difficulties where children are too young to access funding or are only able to access 15 hours of support when their entitlement is for 30 hours. If we do not resolve the funding issues for children with SEND in the early years, it will continue to drain the early years sector of funds at a time when it is already struggling. 

    We welcome the green paper’s plan for a simplified, standardised EHCP process that is digital and can travel across local authority boundaries. While only a small number of the total EHCPs in the country are in the early years, this will simplify the process for settings who often struggle with the administrative demands on this process. In turn, this will hopefully lead to more capacity in those settings to accept children with SEND who want to attend. It will also greatly help families who are either living on a border, or who need to move local authority area during the early years or at transition time. 

    The focus on increasing training in the early years for working effectively with children with SEND is much needed, but it should consider ensuring that every practitioner has an understanding of working inclusively with children with SEND, not purely focusing on a Level 3 qualified SENCO. Parents have expressed concerns about the impacts of only one person in a setting holding all the SEND expertise. For system-wide change, we recommend an approach that looks at raising the base knowledge levels of all practitioners around SEND, and ultimately this means that the standard Level 3 qualification should have a greater focus on this type of content. 

    Inclusion dashboards and local inclusion plans are in line with all the work we have done through the Early Years SEND Partnership, which suggests that to give children in the early years the best start and the best transitions to primary school, we must track key local data and really understand how inclusive we are. We look forward to sharing our learning on this through the consultation, and helping to shape what these dashboards look like, so that parents and professionals alike have a clear picture of what is working and what is not locally. We are committed to ensuring that every child who would benefit from accessing the mainstream in the early years has the opportunity to do so with the right support, however we must ensure that the mainstream is effectively trained, funded, and guided to support them effectively. Only once this investment is made will parents consider that mainstream education is a viable route for their child. 

    Taking into consideration the suggestions for changes to the current system, a few areas stand out across the age groups as needing more detail and consultation: 

    • Introduction of mandatory mediation. First impressions suggest this means an extra layer of bureaucracy for families rather than streamlining the current system. At worst, it could lead to exhausted parents being unable to go through another draining part of the process and not getting the right support for their children.
    • Lists of available schools tailored to parents. Rather than make the process simpler for families, this could mean that they have reduced choice and are discouraged from applying to settings not on the approved list. The reasons for adding settings to the approved list must also be very carefully assessed and completely transparent so that parents trust they are still going to get the best setting for their child. In addition, there needs to be careful planning on how to ensure decisions are not diagnosis-led but are tailored to each individual child and their specific needs and situation. The report states that there must be ‘flexibility’ in all of this, but careful planning and monitoring is needed to ensure clarity and accountability with this process, putting families at the heart of decision making.

     

    In conclusion, the Government green paper gives hope for real change to the current SEND system and reinforces the key role of the early years in achieving the best life outcomes for children with SEND.  

    For children with SEND in the early years to get the best experiences of early education and have the best chance of accessing the right provision, there must be significant improvements in resourcing and funding systems. Only with this level of investment will settings be able to offer the high-quality early intervention, support and transitions needed. We hope that this area is fully addressed over the coming months and years.  

    Standardised SEND systems have the potential to reduce issues across local authority borders and between various stages of the education system – issues that have especially affected the success of early years transitions to school, but these must be carefully developed, placing family’s needs at the centre of all planning. 

    Dingley’s Promise will strive to gather the views of families to feed into the consultation and ensure that the final document is fully reflective of needs and concerns on the ground. For any of this to make a real change, it is parents who must feel that it is transparent, and trust that the system is working in the best interests of their children. Without that trust, the fundamental issues the system is grappling with now cannot be resolved, and children and families will continue to have to endure exhausting processes to access their legal entitlements. 

     

    Read the full report here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1063620/SEND_review_right_support_right_place_right_time_accessible.pdf  

     

     

  • Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden visit Dingley’s Promise

    Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden visit Dingley’s Promise

    Heart Radio’s Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden visit Dingley’s Promise in Reading as part of the Global’s Make Some Noise Day campaign!

    Dingley’s Promise welcomed Jamie Theakston, Amanda Holden and the Heart Radio crew to our Reading Centre on Thursday 7th October! Their visit was part of the ‘Heart Breakfast Road Trip’, which involved Jamie and Amanda travelling across the country to meet inspirational people from the local charities and organisations that are supported Global’s Make Some Noise, as part of the 2021 Global’s Make Some Noise Day campaign.

    Dingley’s Promise CEO, Catherine McLeod, and Fundraising and Communications Manager, Jo Evans, were on hand to welcome the visitors and explain how we have been supporting families in Reading since 1983. Jo also spoke about the huge impact that funding from Global’s Make Some Noise has made, particularly in what had been a tough 18 months for small charities.

    Jamie, Amanda and their team were given a tour of the Centre; including the two welcoming playrooms, the fully equipped sensory rooms, the newly refurbished family room and the Centre’s fantastic outdoor space that the children can enjoy in all weathers. The Reading Centre’s staff and volunteers also demonstrated first-hand how they support children in the Early Years with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) to develop the skills needed to achieve their full potential, ensuring every child receives the best start.

     

     

    As part of the visit, Jamie and Amanda spent valuable time with a group of parents and listened to their stories. Every family of a child with SEND has a unique experience and the group shared how Dingley’s Promise supports them to overcome their individual challenges, particularly during the pandemic. Dingley’s Promise is grateful to all the parents that took the time to join us and help to raise awareness of our vital work with a national audience.

    Dingley’s Promise is proud to have been a part of this year’s Global’s Make Some Noise Day campaign and thanks Heart Radio for such a fantastic visit. All the staff, parents and children had a fantastic time; some of the children even got to get behind the microphone!

     

     

    Global’s Make Some Noise is currently funding a Recovery Activity Programme across all three Dingley’s Promise Centres (Reading, Wokingham and West Berkshire), allowing the charity to help children in the Early Years with SEND to recoup the physical, educational and emotional abilities that were lost due to a lack of face-to-face support. This project forms part of the wider Dingley’s Promise Recovery Appeal, which aims to support children and families recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

     

    To watch a video of the visit click here: https://www.facebook.com/thisisheartofficial/videos/1261880687664366

    Donate to the Dingley’s Promise Recovery Appeal: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/dingleyrecoveryappeal

     

  • Dingley’s Promise receives funding from Comic Relief’s Change Makers

    Dingley’s Promise receives funding from Comic Relief’s Change Makers

    Dingley’s Promise receives funding from Comic Relief’s Change Makers initiative to tackle lack of early years spaces for children with SEND

    Comic Relief has today announced a brand-new £9.1 million programme to support new initiatives that will deliver vital long-term support to thousands of vulnerable people across the UK during the Covid-19 recovery.

     

    One of the successful recipients is Dingley’s Promise in Berkshire. The charity will use an investment of  £545,789 to design and deliver ten training courses to help early years practitioners be more inclusive of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and to facilitate the development of early years inclusion strategies in thirty local authorities. All of this will take place with a focus on parental input, on building the voice of the child, and on wider influencing of sector leaders and government. Children with SEND and children in the early years are among the most affected by the pandemic, and so this project will directly contribute to opening more spaces for them in the early years at a time that they have never needed early intervention more.

     

    Catherine McLeod MBE, Chief Executive of Dingley’s Promise, said; ‘We are over the moon about being able to deliver this project. We are committed to transforming the early years for children with SEND, and want to change the fact that currently only 19% of local authorities have enough spaces for children with SEND in the early years. This project will build a movement for greater inclusion, and will open up spaces to allow more children than ever before to thrive in the early years.’

     

    The Change Makers programme is launching twenty new initiatives involving 45 organisations, spanning all four nations of the UK, over the next five years. They will tackle serious issues that have seen increased demand for help throughout the pandemic including homelessness, domestic abuse and mental health. The programme aims to find innovative solutions to problems affecting vulnerable people that have been overlooked or under-resourced at a local, regional and national level.

     

    Samir Patel, CEO of Comic Relief, said: “It’s fantastic that through our new Change Makers programme we are able to support 20 ‘game changing’ projects that are working with thousands of vulnerable people and families throughout the UK. Each project aims to provide vital long-term support and make a real positive impact on communities hardest hit by the pandemic.”

     

    For more information visit www.comicrelief.com/funding

  • Dingley’s Promise CEO calls for increased funding at APPG

    Dingley’s Promise CEO calls for increased funding at APPG

    Dingley’s Promise CEO calls for increased funding for Early Years Sector at All Party Parliamentary Group Meeting.

    Catherine McLeod MBE, Chief Executive of Dingley’s Promise, was a key speaker at the latest meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Childcare and Early Years Education, which called for the Government to use the Spending Review to address shortages in early years funding. 

     

     

    Catherine spoke about the stark reality of the lack of easily accessible funding in the mainstream for providing support to children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) across the Early Years Sector. Shockingly, 81% of settings report having to fund SEND costs themselves, with 49% doing so on a regular basis (EYA, 2020). With the cost of specialist primary school places being almost six times as expensive as mainstream places, the long term costs of not giving children the right early intervention in the early years is not only damaging to the child, but also builds more expensive cost liabilities in the primary school system. 

     

     

    The Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have exacerbated existing issues within the sector. Social isolation and delayed access to services have been the most extreme for children in the early years (Disabled Children’s Partnership, 2021) meaning that this group are more in need than ever before. Vital early intervention cannot be provided to all the children that need it unless settings receive sufficient funding. Without that, settings are left in the impossible situation of having to choose between the sustainability of their business and inclusion of children with SEND.  

    The group, chaired by Steve Brine MP, have collectively called for increased funding for the Early Years Sector as a whole, asking the Government for almost £3000 per child to address funding shortages. Within this ask, there is a call to effectively fund support for children with SEND in mainstream settings to take this extra cost pressure off the sector. 

    To read the full press release, click here: https://connectpa.co.uk/early-years-catch-up-premium-needed/  

    Dingley’s Promise is a proud member of the APPG, representing the needs of children with SEND in the early years alongside key national partners. This shows that even though we are still a small, local charity, we can have a large impact on increasing inclusion in the Early Years Sector on a national scale. Our role within the group is to ensure that the voices of children with SEND, and their families, are not forgotten or left out of national conversations about future policy.  

    To hear Catherine’s full speech, watch the video (Catherine’s speech takes place from the 19th to the 26th minute): APPG for Childcare and Early Education – Early Years and Spending Review 

     

     

    To learn more about the positive difference Dingley’s Promise is making on a national level, visit our UK Impact webpage. 

     

  • Dingley’s Promise launches new charity logo

    Dingley’s Promise launches new charity logo

    Dingley’s Promise is pleased to introduce our new charity logo! We have kept our recognisable “Dingley’s Promise” font and our updated strapline emphasises our passion and commitment to “Transform the Early Years for children with SEND”. 

    Along with our new logo, our charity branding has also been given a refresh. We’ve spruced up our signature colours and revised our brand guidelines to ensure our appearance stays fresh, professional and welcoming to all, from families to funders. 

    Our much-loved Dingley Bear mascot is here to stay too and will be featured across much of our branded materials, especially when messages refer to our three centres or communicates directly to children and families.  

    Our design development has been achieved through the collaboration of Dingley’s Promise team and Abstract Creative Studio.  Our talented designer Rebecca was with us every step of the way and was instrumental in helping us make our new vision for the charity a reality.  

    “We love our new logo and refreshed branding because of its fresh new look that combines both our friendly, local image in line with our direct work with children and families, but also brings in our wider role of transforming the early years sector for children across the country. As a charity we are moving forward to make a greater impact than ever before, and we really feel that our new branding captures that.’ – Catherine McLeod, CEO of Dingley’s Promise 

     

  • Dingley’s Promise sponsors APPG on Childcare and Early Education

    Dingley’s Promise sponsors APPG on Childcare and Early Education

    Dingley’s Promise has become a sponsor of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Childcare and the Early Education in order to ensure that the national conversation about the value of the early years sector includes the voice of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and their families. In the wake of the pandemic, the vital importance of the early years has never been more clear. In recent months calls have increased for greater investment in the earliest years, and just last month the Government launched their new early years review, led by The Rt. Hon. Andrea Leadsom MP. ‘ The best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days‘ outlines the importance of giving every child the best start in life to minimise inequalities, and is in line with increasing calls for greater focus on the earliest years.

    The charity runs specialist early years settings in Berkshire and a national training and consultancy programme, focused on transforming the early years for children with SEND. As a member of the Disabled Children’s Partnership and a delivery partner in the Department for Education-funded Early Years SEND Partnership, Dingley’s Promise has been increasingly involved in bringing about change. The charity has worked to raise awareness among MPs of the need for excellent early interventions for children with SEND, therefore when given the opportunity to join the APPG it was a logical next step.

    The APPG on Childcare and the Early Education is Chaired by the Member of Parliament for Winchester, Steve Brine MP, who is passionate about the early years agenda in particular child development in the first 1001 days and the quality of the settings in which they receive early education. The group’s other sponsors include The Early Years Alliance, the National Day Nurseries Association, the Montessori Group, CACHE, The Foundations Stage Forum and Tops Day Nurseries.

    Chief Executive of Dingley’s Promise Catherine McLeod MBE said: ‘We are thrilled to have been accepted so warmly by Steve and welcomed by the other sponsors, reflecting the recognition that an early years conversation cannot be complete without consideration of how to be inclusive of children with SEND. We are committed to raising awareness nationally and among parliamentarians of the lack of sufficient early years provision for children with SEND throughout the country, and we hope to see real progress on this in the coming year.’

    The first APPG meeting of this financial year will be held virtually on 27th April on the topic of ‘Parent Perspectives on Early Education’, with the Chair presenting the results of the survey carried out in Childcare and Early Education week. Practitioners and families are invited to attend the session and should contact Connect PA, the APPG’s Secretariat, [email protected] to secure their place.

  • Family Spotlight: Niall’s Family

    Family Spotlight: Niall’s Family

    Niall has recently turned two years old and he and his family access Dingley’s Promise through our Family Support Offer. Niall has physical and developmental needs, which are awaiting official diagnosis and also has a sibling with Autism (ASD). 

    Niall’s family’s first contact with Dingley’s Promise was via Paula, our West Berkshire based Family Support Worker. Paula organised a friendly and informal home visit with the family and was able to offer them an understanding, non judgemental ear, as well as reassurance and advice.

    As a Dingley’s Promise Family, Niall’s parents have been able to access a variety of home learning resources throughout lockdown, including social stories, educational activity ideas, storytime videos made by centre staff and much more. Niall’s family also have access to online Zoom based stay and play sessions, parent/carer coffee mornings and are part of a community of families that share experiences and support each other. 

    Paula keeps in regular contact with Niall’s family through 1:1 phone calls, and is also available via text and in person support, should they require it. Dingley’s Promise is committed to always being there to support Niall’s family and respond to their individual needs.

    Niall particularly enjoyed attending our garden Stay and Play session at the West Berkshire last year, and his brother was able to come along and join the fun too! They both have attended further sessions, giving them the chance to play, interact and make friends with their peers, improving their confidence and communication skills as well as being a time of respite for both children and parents. Niall is currently on the waiting list for our West Berkshire Centre. 

    We recently spoke to Niall’s parents to find out how support from Dingley’s Promise is making a positive difference to their family;

     

    What was your family’s situation before you came to Dingley’s Promise?

    Before contacting Dingley’s Promise we had been thrown into a whole new world of understanding what it means to live with children with complex disabilities. 

     

    How did you find out about Dingley’s Promise?

    A health visitor recommended Dingley’s Promise to us. 

     

    What was your experience of joining Dingley’s Promise like?

    We instantly felt welcomed. We had a home visit initially from Paula, the Family Support Worker, who was very friendly and helpful in explaining the service and how it could help our son’s needs.

     

    What effect has our services had on your child?

    Our son has had the opportunity to have another safe environment to play and explore. 

     

    What effect have the services had on you as a parent?

    It has been hugely beneficial over the pandemic to know that someone is available on the end of the phone to talk to – at times Paula has been a huge support in my house!

     

    How is your Niall doing now?

    He’s happy and generally healthy.

     

    What would you do if Dingley’s Promise did not exist?

    We would consider homeschooling until he was old enough for a SEN school that would be suitable. 

     

    Finally, what would you say is the best thing about Dingley’s Promise?

    It’s a warm and welcoming environment that gives children and families a safe space to be themselves.

     

    Thank you to Niall’s family for talking to us, we wish them all the best and are proud to be able to make a positive impact on their family. 

    You could help us make a difference to the lives of more children like Naill, and their families, by choosing to support Dingley’s Promise. Donating just £60 could pay for one of our Family Support Workers to visit 5 local families who are on our centre waiting lists and in need of outreach assistance and advice. 

    Donate here: https://dingley.org.uk/online-donations/

    If your family, or a family that you know could benefit from our support or would like to know more about our Family Support Offer, please visit our Family Support webpage and get in touch!

  • Dingleys Promise: CEO’s 2020 Round Up

    Dingleys Promise: CEO’s 2020 Round Up

    In 2015, we set our strategy for five years ending in 2020, that we joked was our ‘2020 vision’. As we approached the end of that five-year period, our progress was looking great and we had achieved most of what we had planned – and in some areas we had exceeded our planned targets. In any other year we would have gathered our stakeholders and created our next long term strategy, but of course 2020 has not been the year for following the usual plan.

    I have written about our work during lockdown supporting children and their families, and how we reopened in June to make sure that our services resumed as quickly as possible in line with government guidance. As we approach the end of the year, we are taking stock of how 2020 has affected all the people who are a part of Dingley’s Promise and how we can collectively move forward to meet our goals and aspirations.

    Our Teams 

    Our teams have worked so very hard this year, and coped amazingly with numerous – and often sudden – changes in our way of working. The team members who work directly with children have embraced remote working, despite it being very different from what they are passionate about doing, and have supported each other through some very tough times. Our organisational focus on wellbeing has been vital in making sure colleagues are doing ok and are able to reach out for support when needed. I am so proud to be part of such a mutually supportive team, who realise that they can overcome any challenge when working together.

    The Children

    The vast majority of our children went home during the first lockdown in March and were supported by their families. In June when early years’ settings reopened across the country, most of them returned and we were relieved to see how quickly they settled in again. The increased stress for some children in being separated from their families after so long was evident, but the majority of children were happy and excited to return to us. Our teams have worked hard since then to address the two main areas where their development had slowed the most – listening & attention and health & self-care. They have helped the children to adapt to the new hygiene measures in place and helped them to enjoy an autumn term full of fun and new activities. While they have had a gap in their education, we will continue to support their recovery. We will also increase our outreach work to help other children get the help they need as early as possible, and continue with our remote support for any children who have to be absent from education.

    Our Families

    Our families have been absolute heroes this year. They have coped with increased isolation and in many cases a total lack of the services they had previously to lockdown. They have worked closely with our teams to support their children at home, using our online platform to share progress. Not only that, but they have supported each other in online meetings and in closed groups, sharing their experiences and being there for each other. Families’ need for emotional support from us has increased significantly this year and we will continue to respond to this need throughout the coming months, to ensure those who have struggled with their mental health have the support they need.

    Our Supporters

    The people who support our work have been incredibly generous this year in making sure we can deliver the vital support that children and their families have needed. Many have responded to our emergency appeals, and despite their own troubles have prioritised supporting us through this very challenging time. This has enabled us to redirect our fundraising efforts towards supporting those most in need and focusing on the children’s recovery from the impacts of the pandemic. The year ahead will be a difficult one and we need your continued support more than ever, whilst we overcome the hurdles we are faced with and return to a new normal.

    Despite the extreme pressures of 2020, Dingley’s Promise has been able to step up and provide the support our children and families have needed. This is fundamentally a result of: our incredible supporters who ensured we were funded; our staff and volunteer teams who have continued to work with such passion and commitment; our Board of Trustees who have provided support and guidance at such a crucial time; our children and their resilience in the face of an unprecedented removal of education and therapeutic services; and of course, their families who have managed fantastically under extremely difficult circumstances without access to services.

    To all of you involved in Dingley’s Promise’s journey, thank you so much for your hard work and support. We wish you a peaceful and restorative festive break and look forward to continuing to meet the needs of children and families in 2021 in what we hope will be a more predictable year.

    Catherine McLeod MBE, CEO of Dingley’s Promise