(UK) Lincs/Rutland: $6.8M for "increasing number of nursery-aged children with SPED needs"
- The end of childhood
- Aug 28, 2025
- 2 min read
Aug 27, 2025, Lincolnshire and Rutland nurseries to get special educational needs training from Realise in £5 million [$6.8M] plan
Nurseries in Lincolnshire and Rutland are set to receive additional special educational needs training as part of a £5 million [$6.8M] funding package.
Early years specialist Realise has launched the Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinators (SENCO) Skills Bootcamp for providers to sign up to.
Realise said the programme was in response to an increasing number of nursery-aged children with special educational needs (SEN) and a lack of trained staff to support them.
The funding has been provided by Lincolnshire County Council in partnership with the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to deliver the training to staff working in nurseries in Lincolnshire and Rutland in 2025/26.
Karen Derbyshire, director of Realise Early Years, said: “Right across the UK, we are seeing a big increase in the number of children in nurseries with special educational needs and there is a disparity between that and the number of trained SEN Co-Ordinators. . . .
“The demand for skilled SENCOs has never been higher so we are delighted to be playing our part in helping address that shortage in Lincolnshire.”
The majority of the costs have been covered by Lincolnshire County Council and the Greater Lincolnshire LEP which has funded the scheme.
Realise said that providers with fewer than 250 staff only need to pay for 10% of the cost, while larger employers will need to make a 30% contribution.
The online course is designed for nursery staff who are qualified to level three or above and will provide training on how to provide tailed support for SEN children.
The early years provider said it hopes to train at least 20 nursery staff in Lincolnshire.
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