Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 29
29
Accepted
Paragraph: 180
Equipping ECEC practitioners with SEND identification skills reduces EHC plan applications and waiting times.
Conclusion
Equipping all ECEC practitioners with the skills to identify and support Special Educational Needs (SEN) would help settings better identify and support children with lower level SEND in-house and reduce the number of applications for diagnosis or additional support through an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, or a speech and language assessment. This in turn would reduce waiting times for those children who do require an such additional support.
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of equipping early years practitioners with SEND identification and support skills, affirming that updated Level 3 Early Years Educator qualification criteria from September 2024 and existing Level 2 Practitioner criteria include dedicated sections on SEND.
Paragraph Reference:
180
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Committee can be assured that DfE recognises the important role the early years sector plays in the early identification of needs and in building up effective working relationships with parents about their children’s needs. Government understands that it is fundamentally important that SEND is identified early to enable the right support to be put in place. We know that effective early identification and intervention can reduce the impact that a special educational need or disability may have in the long term. The newly revised Level 3 early years educator (EYE) qualification criteria, for Level 3 qualifications from September 2024, now includes stand-alone criteria on SEND identification and practice. There are also dedicated criteria on SEND in the Teacher Standards (Early Years), which an individual is required to meet to gain Early Years Teacher Status. The Level 2 Early Years Practitioner Criteria also has a stand-alone section on SEND, including on support, which details the knowledge and skills we could expect of a Level 2 Early Years Practitioner. An individual must meet all these criteria when completing their qualification. They would be expected to provide reasonable support to a level 3 or above qualified member of staff to make assessments regarding children in their care. There are no further plans to update the Level 2 Early Years Practitioner criteria currently.