Coram PACEY is proud to be a partner of the free Early Years SEND CPD Courses project from Dingley’s Promise, funded by the Department for Education. With specific content for childminders, created by Coram PACEY, these free online courses can be completed at any time.

Recent research has shown that practitioner knowledge and skills are among the strongest drivers of quality in early childhood education, and the growing numbers of children with SEND over recent years have increased pressure on the early years workforce. SEND inclusion has a direct impact on the quality of provision, staff morale and engagement, parental collaboration and crucially children’s sense of belonging and developmental progress and therefore, this training is crucial to the sector in so many ways.

The courses look at strategies and information to help you unlock the potential of each unique child. Full of reflective activities and practical case studies, the courses have everything you will need to develop your inclusive approach.

Free bite-sized courses

Childminders will be able to access bite-sized courses covering topics including: 

• An introduction to speech, language and communication (SLC) in the early years 
• An introduction to supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) 
• Supporting with speech and language in the early years 
• Understanding and recognising speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) in the early years 
• Creating a safe sensory environment 
• Sensory differences for neurodivergent children 
• Neurodivergent play 
• Understanding autism, the three areas of difference and strategies to remove barriers to learning 

All users will also have free access to Dingley’s training modules and other partner resources, with topics including The Foundations of Inclusive Practice, Embedding Inclusive Practice and Parent Partnership. 

More information and access details will be available soon. 

Catherine Mole, CEO of Dingley’s Promise, shared her thoughts on the launch of the project:

We are delighted to have been selected to lead on this vital training programme. This programme offers early years educators the opportunity to upskill and gain more confidence to support children with SEND at no cost to themselves or the setting and shows the increasing value being placed on early years education and its impact. This government investment is a key step towards ensuring that every child has access to the right support at the earliest point possible to give many more children the best start in life. We would encourage all early years settings to access this training and take a whole setting approach to inclusion as we know first-hand how transformational this can be”.

Ka Lai Brightley-Hodges, Head of Coram PACEY, commented:

“It is fantastic that childminders have been considered and included  in this training programme. So many childminders provide essential care and education to children with SEND already. However, given the intimate home-based environment where smaller ratios mean childminders have time and freedom to provide excellent care to children with SEND, there is a huge opportunity to deliver this on a bigger scale for greater impact. This training, with eight bite-sized modules from Coram PACEY will help childminders improve their inclusive practice and we hope to inspire them to increase their SEND provision places where they can.

We are very grateful and excited to be a partner in this project working with Dingley’s Promise.”