A charity concerned with supporting young children with SEND is calling for urgent support as research shows one in five families needing SEND early years provision are being turned away by settings.
Within its manifesto, launched today (14 November), Dingley’s Promise warns that ‘without action now, the expanded funded hours are likely to cause even greater exclusion of children with SEND, undermining the wider educational inclusion that the Government’s SEND plan aims to achieve.’
The manifesto was informed by a survey of more than 550 respondents by the charity, which it says ‘paints a bleak picture of the difficulties faced by families, settings and local authorities in giving children with SEND the right start in education.’
Key findings include:
- 27 per cent of settings reported that one year ago they were unable to offer any spaces for children with SEND, rising to 57 per cent reporting they would not be able to offer spaces following the introduction of the expanded entitlement.
- 95 per cent of settings report that the number of children with SEND is increasing, resulting in one-in-five parents saying they’ve been turned away from settings.
- 85 per cent of local authorities said they currently have insufficient SEND provision.
