Day care centre receives praise for work with children with special educational needs

Springboard is a programme aimed at providing tailored support to settings and children in Early Years, and Key Stage 1.

Now in its second year, Springboard has already worked with about 40 different settings.

During their time with each setting two dedicated practitioners work with settings weekly over a term.

Feedback from the project has been outstanding, with schools saying that they feel well supported and that they feel more confident in their ability to support students with additional needs.

Staff at Reynolds said: “Having an experienced practitioner who is currently working with children with additional needs and providing practical support has been a valuable training experience for staff.

“They have been able to learn new and relevant skills and techniques which support the children’s communication and learning.”

Staff at Reynolds saw a marked improvement on their pupil’s development.

They said: “Because of the support we were able to offer, the children are now able to communicate more, and we are seeing increased cognitive development as a result.”

Following a term of support the setting are able to share their new skills with other staff and use their knowledge to support other students.

This provides longevity for the strategies to continue to be implemented and provides a knowledge base directly in the setting.

Councillor Margaret Cracknell, Portfolio Holder for Children and Education, at North East Lincolnshire Council, said:

 “Having targeted support for children’s development in their early years is crucial. The children who have been helped through Springboard now have a strong foundation from which to continue their learning.

“Reynolds Day care is just one example of the many Early Years and Primary educational settings which are now better able to support their students’ development because of this approach. We hope to see much more progress in this way of educating children in the future.

“It was a much-needed programme of intervention with the aim of paving the way for all of our early years settings to be skilled in working with children with additional needs.”