Scarborough nursery recognised for work with children with special needs
A Scarborough early years provider is paving the way for inclusion after being recognised for the high-quality of their support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Childhaven Community Nursery School in Scarborough has received a Mark of Achievement through Dingley’s Promise – a charity which aims to give every child with SEND the best start in life.
The award recognises the dedication and commitment of Childhaven to equipping staff with skills to nurture and transform the lives of children with specialist needs.
North Yorkshire Council offers the Dingley’s Promise Early Years Inclusion programme, which consists of 10 courses over five years aimed at boosting the skills of staff through training and shared information, to all nurseries in the county with children under the age of five. So far, 848 learners in the county have signed up.
Childhaven, which accommodates 67 children per session, is among those who have been accredited with Dingley’s Promise Mark of Achievement.
Headteacher Kathryn Firth said: “We are so pleased. This award recognises the high level of staff training and knowledge we have within the nursery school which we have used to set up specialist provision to meet the needs of all children.
“The training highlighted areas we needed to do more work on to improve our offer even further and guided us to further training for staff to undertake.”
She added: “We want all children to succeed and we pride ourselves on being an inclusive setting. We try very hard to find ways to say ‘yes’ to children who find accessing early years provision difficult. This might be due to their understanding, their communication, their delay in moving or a physical difficulty.”
North Yorkshire Council’s assistant director for inclusion, Amanda Newbold, said: “With an increasing number of young children with SEND in the county, it is vital that we support our schools, nurseries and early years practitioners with the training they need to offer inclusive education and development from the outset.
“It’s great to hear the positive feedback from those that have taken up the training so far. “We would encourage those who haven’t yet signed up to get in touch.”
More information can be found at https://dingley.org.uk/dingleys-promise-training/early-years-inclusion-programme/