Nov 29, 2022, Nursery World: Conference report: ‘Being ambitious for all children’ https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/article/conference-report-being-ambitious-for-all-children
Annette Rawstrone reports on the issues raised at Nursery World’s recent conference – 'EYFS: Supporting every child to thrive' – which focused on strategies to support the large rise in numbers of children presenting with additional needs across the sector.
Many attending the conference expressed feeling overwhelmed by the increase in children they care for with special education needs and disabilities (SEND). One delegate, a manager of a small nursery group, told Nursery World that she is considering introducing a charge for supporting families with Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) applications because they are proving so time consuming.
Delegates also expressed frustration at the current lack of basic training around caring for children with additional needs, referring back to the former NNEB qualification, and called for specific SEND training to be included in current education and childcare qualifications. They were reassured to hear Catherine McLeod, chief executive of inclusion charity Dingley’s Promise, saying that the National Council for Further Education (NCFE) has agreed to introduce this in the revised Level 3 qualification.
‘High aspirations’
Keynote speaker, Dr Julian Grenier, headteacher at Sheringham Nursery School and Children’s Centre in Newham and lead on the revised Development Matters Guidance, spoke about having high aspirations for all children and the importance of ‘engaging’ with children’s interests rather than ‘following’ them. He showed examples of how educators at his setting and at Pen Green Children’s Centre in Corby, Northamptonshire use their engagements with children to ‘intentionally’ further their learning and development. ‘Inclusion means helping every child to take part in an ambitious curriculum,’ he said.
Grenier emphasised the importance of moving away from a deficit model of assessment to one where children’s achievements are celebrated. He flagged up the online toolkit ‘A Celebratory Approach to SEND Assessment in the Early Years’ developed by Pen Green and funded by the Department for Education (see Further information).
Newham SEND Hub
Models of good practice were shared during the day, including from the Newham SEND Hub which has been formed in the London borough to empower childminders and practitioners in private, voluntary and independent (PVI) nurseries to fully include children with additional needs. The Hub enables practitioners to access multi-agency support so that children and parents receive early intervention even while waiting for a formal diagnosis.
Sharon Birch, director of Footprints Learning for Life in Hartlepool and winner of the Nursery World Inclusive Practice Award in 2021, spoke about how the PVI setting welcomes children with SEND and also employs staff with additional or long-term health requirements. The nursery is a ‘Disability Confident’ employer (see Further information) and works with the local job centre to recruit staff who may otherwise be overlooked for a career in childcare.
Delegates also heard from this year’s Nursery World Trainer of the Year winner Cheryl Bedding from Aperion Training. She gave advice on how to create an autism friendly environment and spoke from her own experience as a parent of children with SEN, including the importance of practitioners not only understanding and accepting autism but validating parents’ feelings.
Delegates gathered at the Hallam Conference Centre in central London, on 9 November.