Early years organisations

Wednesday, December 18, 2002

Early years organisations metin London last week to discuss how service provision could be improved to meet the needs of very young disabled children. Catherine Ashton, Sure Start minister, was among the speakers at a day conference organised by the Council for Disabled Children (CDC) and the Early Childhood Unit at the National Children's Bureau. She said more integrated services and keyworker systems needed to be developed to improve the early identification of special needs and support for children and their families. Other speakers included Christine Lenehan, CDC principal development officer, who said nurseries needed to adopt a 'can do' attitude to accepting children who have severe disabilities. Other topics included the expansion of early years funding, guidance for those working with disabled babies and toddlers, and implications arising from the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act.