Our Alumni

Dingley’s mission is to deliver life changing support to under 5’s with additional needs & disabilities and their families.

Across the UK only 22% of local authorities feel they have enough provision in the early years for children with SEND. The gap between children with SEND and other children continues to grow across the country, and while the vast majority of mainstream children are accessing their 30 hours free entitlements, only 25% of children with SEND are.

In this situation, Dingley’s Promise has developed a model that uses specialist early intervention to build wider inclusion. Our Centres in Newbury, Reading and Wokingham use entry and exit criteria to put children with SEND on a pathway, helping them in to mainstream provision wherever possible. The model ensures as many children as possible get an early education, reducing the burden on primary education and reducing long term costs in the local authority. It also provides families with support and advice at a time that can be very challenging for them.

Last year we launched our national online training offer, accredited by ncfe at Level 3, that trains staff in mainstream nurseries to work inclusively and ultimately accept more children with SEND in the mainstream. In the first year, 50 trainees signed up and we are working with a national charity to secure more bursaries to deliver more widely across the country.