Pre-school Education: Special Educational Needs

The reforms outlined in ‘Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform: putting children and young people first’ will give early years settings the training, evidence-based tools and expert input they need to welcome children with diverse needs into their settings and provide the right support from day one. This will include dedicated early years inclusion training within a 3-year £200 million national training package, access to expert advice through the new Experts at Hand offer, and an additional £47 million in 2026/27 through the inclusive early years fund to support the sector to become more inclusive of children with SEND

Alongside this, the department will strengthen local accountability and give parents greater confidence that their children can access the early education and childcare they are entitled to. This will include working with local authorities to strengthen their sufficiency planning for children with SEND, reviewing whether statutory requirements are clear enough and exploring how to improve data on the availability of suitable places, including for those needing specialist support. Early years children can also benefit from our £3.7 billion high needs capital investment between 2025 and 2030 to create new specialist places.