Early Years (EY) Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Provision of Phase 1 CPD Materials and Training

Description

Early Years (EY) Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Provision of Phase 1 CPD Materials and Training Procurement Description Please note that all references to procedure, value and term length are purely illustrative and subject to change. Department for Education are seeking to procure an online package of training with learning materials for early years practitioners on SEND and make this available and accessible for all early years practitioners from September 2026 for 12 months, with the possibility of extension on a quarterly basis for up to an additional 12 months if required The training should: Be specific to SEND in early years only, specifically ages 0-4. Be available and applicable to all early years practitioners, regardless of qualification level or setting type (PVIs, school-based nurseries, childminders etc.) and meet government accessibility standards. Be in an online, modular, self-paced format that users can revisit at their convenience with videos and/or webinars dispersed amongst the online learning. Provide a minimum of 20 hours of content, to enable and support learning beyond the level currently covered in the DfE’s Early Years Child Development Training, module 8. Cover, at a minimum, content around inclusive practice and methods for embedding this within a setting and information/guidance on engaging with parents of children with SEND. A combination of existing and newly configured content is acceptable, provided mobilisation and outcomes requirements are met On 16th January 2026, the government announced a £200 million investment in SEND teacher training. The package was described as including: A new Early Years CPD programme, providing free, accessible training focused on inclusive practice, child development, and practical strategies for supporting children with SEND – available to all early years practitioners. Further, on the 23rd February 2026, as part of the SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First consultation document, it was published that all staff in early years will be entitled to receive high quality-training from September 2026. We are currently also conducting separate market engagement on procurement for the creation of a new, more extensive package of training to become available from autumn 2027. This will be referred to as Phase 2 within the specification and ITT documents which will be published and is out of scope of this procurement. This Pipeline Notice does not signify the commencement of any competitive process, nor does it constitute a commitment to any future procurement activity. Please note that Department for Education intends to publish the Tender Notice and ITT in connection with this procurement on Tuesday, 26 May. The Tender period will be open until 17:00 hours, Friday, 12 June.

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