Early Support Wales is the Welsh Government mechanism to improve services for disabled children and children with additional needs and their families.
Early Support has developed a range of resources and training that are aimed at bringing service providers together to work in partnership with the family to ensure the child and family's requirements are met. The aim is to put parents at the centre of the planning process. The development of the Early Support resources and the training began in England and we have updated them, made improvements where necessary and adapted them to fit the Welsh context.
It is important to remember that the materials, on their own, are not the intervention - they need a practitioner and a parent working in partnership, with the child and family at the centre, to make them effective. Early Support principles and approaches underpin the use of the materials but on their own the materials are not enough. To help Early Support's implementation in Wales, Early Support consultants and trainers are available for advice, training and guidance. For a list of Early Support consultants and their contact details, click here.
A partnership of voluntary organisations has been formed and commissioned by the Welsh Government to make sure Early Support is introduced across Wales. With Children in Wales leading, the other partners are Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), Barnardos, Autism Cymru, Care Coordination Network UK (CCNUK), Action for Children, Downs Syndrome Association, Contact a Family, National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS), Access for Black and Minority Ethnic Children and Young people with Disabilities and/or chronic illnesses (ABCD), Scope, Snap Cymru, Learning Disability Wales, Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin (MYM), Welsh Pre-school Providers Association (WPPA), National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), National Childminding Association (NCMA) and National Portage Association. In addition, some members of the Early Support in England team are part of the implementation group. If you would like to know more about any of these organisations, just click on their logo, below.
If you would like to look through the materials for a two-hour workshop outlining the main elements of Early Support and what it has to offer in Wales then click here. If you are very familiar with Early Support and wish to promote it you may want to use these workshop materials to raise awareness of Early Support in your local area. There is an Early Support poster that you can download here or order a copy.
If you would like more help with this then contact us.
