As we enter another academic year you may be evaluating your training needs, particularly for those transitioning from early years into reception classes. Dingley’s Promise Inclusion training is online, accessible, full of practical ideas and gives opportunity for true reflective practice whilst increasing your awareness and confidence to support all children, especially those with SEND.

The Early Years Inclusion Programme training is free to all Early Years Practitioners in Somerset to improve inclusive practises when working with SEND children and furthermore is seeking for parents, carers, community leaders, and volunteers/practitioners offering activities for young children/families to engage with the training.

The project is funded until June 2026, so those who join the programme will be able to access the materials until then.

This Summer saw the launch of the next module, “The Voice of the Child”.

The module is broken into three units:-

• Communication
• The impact of the relationship and the role of the practitioner
• Listening and Participating

It also has links to Let’s Listen Toolkit which invites settings to evaluate themselves against key indicators such as “All children, and their families, are welcomed in a personalised manner”. This toolkit could support you to work together as a team to reflect on what is working well in your setting regarding the child’s voice and what needs to be improved to ensure consistency across staff and settings.

Within the online training programme there are links to videos, lots of practical ideas to implement in your setting/role and points for reflection.

This is the time to ensure Dingley’s Promise Inclusion free training is on your agenda for this academic year. For those in settings, you can start with just a few members of the team signing up for all of the training or all members of the team completing just one module together. This training offers opportunities for flexibility within your setting. Parents/carers and other individuals can also sign up for free. We know time is precious but hope that you can prioritise this to upskill and develop the confidence to be fully inclusive.

For more information and to sign up:

https://dingley.org.uk/dingleys-promise-training/early-years-inclusion-programme/