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First graduates of Skills Bootcamp SEND in the Outdoors!

Blog

13 January 2025

The Kids Planet Training Academy was this year awarded funding to deliver a unique Skills Bootcamp called ‘SEND in the Outdoors’ for existing team members to enhance and upskill their knowledge to support SEND children, delivered in partnership with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

In December, there were 18 proud graduates, the first cohort, who celebrated and shared their stories together at Kids Planet Greenbank, and the newest cohort of SEND in the Outdoors learners are embarking on their journey this month!

Funded through the department of education, commissioned by Liverpool city region combined authority the LCR, the 10-week Skills Bootcamp ootcamp has been created and delivered by the Kids Planet Training Academy across its 18 Liverpool nurseries, focused on enhancing the well-being of children with special educational needs (SEND) through outdoor experiences.

The programme recognises the value of time spent in nature and equips our early years educators with the knowledge and skills to maximise the benefits of outdoor learning. Research shows that children with SEND who engage with nature often experience improvements in areas such as social interaction, communication, behaviour, emotional regulation, cognition, sensory issues, and physical activity.

Sarah Wallace, Skills Broker at Liverpool city region combined authority, said:

“It’s been a pleasure to work with the Kids Planet team and see the progress that has been made with this Skills Bootcamp. The theme of SEND in the outdoors is really needed, so much so that others are looking to implement similar ideas – so Kids Planet has really been a pioneer, and shown that you can use the bootcamp funding to deliver much-needed upskilling projects like this that support children in nurseries. We know that Skills Bootcamps support children on their journey into school and beyond – it’s not just a tick-box, it’s a meaningful and beneficial tool that also improves retention in staff and enables career progression.”

Gill Mason, Kids Planet Training Academy Director, said:

“Kids Planet is passionate about investing in our teams to ensure they have the right skills to provide excellent support to our children and families. Liverpool City Region have funded this project, which has been amazingly successful and I’m thrilled they took that leap of faith, and the engagement with the course has been wonderful. SEND is increasing in our children as we know, with the effects of the pandemic still prevalent, so we are already rolling this out further, as well as looking to expand the offering outside of the Liverpool region, as it’s needed across the whole group.”

The Skills Bootcamp was formed following feedback from Kids Planet’s own nurseries, that SEND was an area that would benefit from additional support. Kids Planet’s SEND and Outdoor teams have already been working together on providing outdoor initiatives for children with SEND, and have seen the impact that it has had on the children.

Gill said: “Just being outdoors has enabled our SEND children to flourish, and given our teams the tools that they need to get outside and simply support them with gross motor skills, get some fresh air, and let off some steam. Kids Planet has a strong ethos for outdoor learning across our nurseries, in all weather, and this is no different for children with SEND, with demonstrable benefits.”

Skills Bootcamps – part of the Government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee, help everyone gain skills for life, are free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer.

*Photographed: members of the first cohort joining together to celebrate their graduation and course successes.

 

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