STAFF who work with children with special educational needs in nurseries and other pre-school settings in Leicester have completed training that will further develop their specialist skills and knowledge.
Twenty staff, who are already Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) in early years settings, recently completed a 12-week course funded by the Department for Education.
All of them succeeded in achieving an Early Years Level 3 SENCO Award.
The training covered a range of topics relating to special educational needs and disability and will help the SENCOs provide more effective support to both children and their families in Leicester.
At a celebration event to present the staff with their certificates, assistant city mayor for education Cllr Elly Cutkelvin said: “It's really important that we support staff in our early years settings to develop their specialist skills and knowledge.
“Having skilled and qualified SENCOs in our pre-school settings helps ensure that any special educational needs are identified promptly – and the sooner a child gets the support they need, the better the outcomes are for that child.
“I’m very proud of these 20 members of staff who have worked so hard to complete this accredited course. Their training will help them to better understand the wide range of special educational needs, while giving parents confidence in the specialist support their child is getting.”
The successful staff were presented with their certificates at a celebration event at the Oak Centre on Bendbow Rise.
The training course was developed by School Improvement Liverpool and delivered by two trainers from Leicester City Council’s Early Support Team, who are licensed to deliver the Early Years SENCO Award.
Funding to train a further 20 SENCOs has been agreed as part of Leicester City Council’s commitment to improving outcomes for all children.
A Government green paper published on 29 March has called for the development of more Level 3 trained SENCOs in early years settings.
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Picture caption: Cllr Elly Cutkelvin, assistant city mayor for education (right), joins the successful SENCOs to present them with their certificates.