Early Years SEND programme helps services become more inclusive and strengthens parent voice
3 mins read
Wednesday 27 May 2026
Contact’s Early Years SEND programme in England supports early years staff, parent carers and local services to build more inclusive support for young disabled children and children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The programme is delivered as part of the Early Years SEND Partnership and funded by the Department for Education.
Over the last year, the programme has enabled families and practitioners to work together to improve communication, strengthen trust, increase co-production and create more inclusive support within early years settings and Family Hub services.
Working with practitioners
Contact delivered workshops for 97 early years practitioners focused on working more effectively with parent carers.
All participants reported a better understanding of how to work alongside families. 99% said they felt more confident taking practical steps to improve their services. Practitioners particularly valued the practical advice, accessible online sessions and opportunities to reflect on how services can better support families from underrepresented communities.
Supporting parent carers
Alongside this, Contact’s Brighter Beginnings programme supported 595 parent carers through workshops covering behaviour, transitions, toilet training, sensory needs and social communication skills. Contact also collaborated with Speech and Language UK to deliver workshops on speech, language and communication.
Parent feedback remained consistently positive. 89–96% said they felt more confident, better informed about support strategies and clearer about next steps. Many parents also said the workshops helped them feel less isolated by connecting with other families facing similar experiences. During the year, Contact also developed a new sensory workshop and factsheet.
Through Contact’s work with local areas, several key themes emerged:
- Improving engagement with underrepresented and underserved families.
- Strengthening inclusive conversations and cultural awareness.
- Improving joined-up working across Family Hubs, early years, health and SEND services.
- Moving away from consultation towards meaningful co-production with parent carers.
- Strengthening parent voice and improving early identification and access to support.
Listening to families to improve early years support
The programme also highlighted ongoing barriers many families face when trying to access support. These include unclear pathways, inaccessible information, digital exclusion, language barriers and services not always recognising different family structures or caregiving arrangements.
The programme has continued to build practitioner confidence in having inclusive conversations with families and involving parents earlier in service design, review and decision-making. A national seminar also explored how early years services can better engage fathers and male carers.
Through workshops, local support, national seminars and co-production network meetings, the programme has contributed to local and national conversations about inclusive practice. And while developing practical resources and shared learning across early years systems.
A consistent message throughout the programme has been the importance of relationship-based practice, trusted community engagement and ensuring families of young children with SEND feel heard, valued and genuinely welcomed within Family Hubs, early years settings and local services.
Take a look at Contact’s Early Years advice and information.
Read our fact sheet about sensory processing differences.