Early Years SEND advocacy training: A research-informed perspective on building positive and compassionate relationships with children and their families

KAREN BOARDMAN, HEAD OF EARLY YEARS EDUCATION, EDGE HILL UNIVERSITY, UK MARIA RERAKI, SENIOR LECTURER EARLY YEARS EDUCATION, EDGE HILL UNIVERSITY, UK LISA DORRITY, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION, SIL-LTD, UK JANETTE DUFF, EARLY YEARS EDUCATION PARTNER, SIL-LTD, UK This perspective article outlines the main findings from an evaluative stakeholder study of a new Early Years SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) advocacy training programme developed by SIL-Ltd (SIL). SIL offered this new training programme for Early Years professionals to be trained as an Early Years SEND Advocate (EYSA), to support the work of the special educational needs coordinator (SENDCo) in the setting. The EYSA SIL training programme was introduced in response to growing local and national challenges. SENDCos reported that they were experiencing increasingly heavy workloads, while schools reported a rise in the number of children presenting with individual complex SEND needs.