SENCo award goes national

Working in partnership with nasen (National Association of Special Educational Needs) the School Improvement Liverpool Early Years SENCo Award will now be supporting education professionals on a national scale.

nasen is to receive £1.4 million from the Department for Education as part of their recent bid to improve access and inclusion in early years. The funding will form part of two projects; a significant training programme for early years setting managers, and an accredited SENCO award aimed at local authority employees.

Both projects will link strategically with the work of the government’s SEND workforce development programme being delivered by the Whole School SEND consortium, which is also hosted by nasen.

The Early Years SENCo award programme will recruit 23 local authorities, on an in-depth training course that will equip them to go on to support other education professionals working in SEND.

As a result of the growing demand for the award, Jennie Staunton from School Improvement Liverpool Early Years team has also been successful in securing a new seconded role as programme leader for the award.

Jennie said: “Having observed the positive impact that the Early Years SENCo Award has had on practitioners’ confidence, skills and ability to deliver high-quality provision, I am delighted to be sharing this opportunity more widely with EYFS colleagues nationally.”

Dr Adam Boddison, nasen’s chief executive said: “Here at nasen, we are committed to providing the most effective and relevant support to those working with children and young people with SEND.

“For over 25 years, nasen has been committed to supporting a skilled and knowledgeable workforce. This project will enable nasen to lead the way in providing crucial support and professional development to those working in early years settings to identify and support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)”.

You can read more about the project at www.nasen.org.uk