Early Years Inclusive Practice for Children with SEND: Giving Every Child the Best Start

Have you seen a rise in the number of children with SEND in your setting? Are you concerned about how to give them the best start alongside other children? Based on four decades of experience with a range of settings and children with SEND, this book takes you through the key practices that will enable you to be truly inclusive.

Drawing from work undertaken by Dingley’s Promise, a national charity striving to provide every child with the best start, chapters explore how we can support the early identification of need and provide a tailored response for individual children. The book considers a range of issues that have been raised by settings as barriers to inclusion, as well as crucial aspects such as discussions with parents, home learning, and well-being. With real-life case studies from the playroom to bring theory to life, questions to encourage reflection and a wealth of practical strategies, this book ensures that every setting has the knowledge, confidence and support they need to drive meaningful early years inclusion for young children with SEND.

Early Years Inclusive Practice for Children with SEND offers a wider understanding of what good inclusive practice is, ensuring that children with SEND have the best early experience they can. It is a must-have resource for all early years practitioners and managers to keep in their setting, and refer back to as they work inclusively and to help with inductions of new staff to their setting.

Catherine Mole, MBE, is CEO of Dingley’s Promise, UK. Catherine is passionate about equity and inclusion for all children and young people with disabilities and was awarded an MBE in 2011 for her work with disadvantaged children.