“Heads forced to ‘lobby’ for specialist provision in early years” – TES Magazine

In an article for TES Magazine, Dingley’s Promise CEO Catherine McLeod highlights the importance of early years SEND provision amidst the concerns of many in the sector that not enough is being done to support children with complex needs in this crucial stage of development.

 

Catherine McLeod, CEO of Dingley’s Promise, warned that creating specialist provision in early years has been an overlooked policy area until now.

She leads the largest specialist provider of nursery education to children under five with SEND in England, running nine centres.

“When it comes to creating units, specialist provision has never been properly considered in the early years,” she told Tes.

Ms McLeod said this was strange given the prominence of such provision in schools, and suggested that in the past, there have been concerns that specialist provision in early years works against ensuring inclusion in mainstream.

But she added: “I think people have to get their head around the idea that actually, if you get in early, you give the right intervention, you can actively move that child into the mainstream.”

 

Read the full piece here.