Nursery World - Managing Equality and Diversity, Part 3: SEND

By creating an inclusive environment where children with SEND are treated equally with others, the whole setting benefits – but it isn’t always easy. By Gabriella Jozwiak

Can early years practitioners meet children’s differing educational needs without labelling them as different? Mary Warnock, who revolutionised the way children with special educational needs or disabilities were educated in the 1970s, complained that the term ‘SEND’ implied children belonged to one homogenous group, when in reality their needs are many and varied. And aside from the huge funding shortages for SEND children, if a child is lucky enough to get extra support there is a danger that this highlights what they are ‘unable’ to do, says Chris Collet, former Newman University lecturer in disability and inclusion in early years education.

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