Special Educational Needs

(asked on 18th February 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2022 to Question 114851 on Special Educational Needs: Coronavirus, what criteria his Department will use to monitor the outcomes of the (a) Early Years Professional Development Programme and (b) Nuffield Early Language Intervention for children with speech and language difficulties.


Answered by
Will Quince Portrait
Will Quince
This question was answered on 28th February 2022

The early years education recovery programme focuses on improving training for early years practitioners. This is one of the key levers for driving up quality in early education environments. Whilst elements of the programme will be initially targeted, the programme will ultimately have national coverage.

Up to £30 million will be invested in phases one and two of the Early Years Professional Development Programme (EYPDP). Combined, the phases will reach early years providers in 101 local authority areas. A further phase of the programme, backed by up to £37.5 million, will ensure national reach.

To ensure assessment of the impact of EYPDP, the department has commissioned independent evaluation of the first phase of the programme.

The department has no plans to publish a breakdown of funding by local authority or parliamentary constituency area. However, we are committed to ensuring EYPDP reaches the areas and children who need it most.

For the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), trained staff complete language assessments with their reception pupils, evaluating whether they would benefit from the 20-week programme. After completion of the programme, schools reassess the pupils’ language skills to monitor progress and help plan what provisions may be needed as the children move into year 1. The Education Endowment Foundation is delivering a long-term evaluation of the NELI programme and will publish reports on the results.

Two thirds of primary schools have signed up to deliver NELI, reaching an estimated 90,000 children. A list of schools signed up to deliver NELI in the 2020/21 academic year can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neli-nuffield-early-language-intervention-programme. The department will shortly be publishing the list of schools signed up to deliver NELI in the 2021/22 academic year. It does not have plans to publish a breakdown of funding in local authorities or parliamentary constituencies.

Reticulating Splines