The government has confirmed an expansion of the fully funded Early Years SENCO programme, with 2,000 extra training places available until August 2024.

Early years special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs) in areas currently under-represented in the training uptake, including the Northeast and Northwest of England, will be given priority when signing up to the Level 3 qualification.

The training is aimed at early years SENCOs with a Level 3 Early Years Educator (EYE) qualification, or those due to take up the role, who are working in a group-based setting or as a childminder.

The programme is delivered by Best Practice Network and a national network of partners: Elklan, Kids Planet Day Nurseries, Snapdragons Nurseries, Bristol City Council, Derbyshire County Council, Durham County Council, Telford and Wrekin Council and the National Day Nurseries Association.

The expanded programme is part of the Department for Education’s early years education recovery programme. It will mean up to 7,000 SENCos will be trained by August 2024.

The Early Years SENCO programme was launched in summer 2022. Evaluations carried out by Best Practice Network in January 2023 reveal that 90% of current programme participants believe that the training has already had a positive impact on their own CPD and their skill levels.

Sian Marsh, director, early years and initial teacher training at Best Practice Network, said: “We’re delighted to be able to offer these additional fully-funded places to satisfy this demand from the sector.

“Having more qualified SENCOs in the early years sector will have positive impacts on children with SEND and on the sector as a whole, giving professionals the skills to address urgent priorities – and a big incentive to stay in a sector that they know will invest in their professional journey.”

Participants on the four-month long programme take part in a mix of online facilitated training, mentoring, online study and enrichment, including a group discussion forum and communities of good practice. Participants build up an e-portfolio of learning for final assessment.