We've made our education programmes free. Help us keep them that way.

Keeping these programmes free isn’t without cost. We invest over £100,000 every year in developing and delivering expert support for schools and nurseries. If you’d like to help us sustain that – and reach more children – we’d love your support.

Donate now

Every child with Down syndrome spends thousands of hours in school. The quality of that experience depends, in large part, on whether the adults around them feel confident and equipped.

When a teacher understands a pupil’s learning profile, when a TA knows how to support communication, when a SENCo has the right resources to hand – that child’s experience changes. And so does their family’s.

Making PEP and EYDP free removes the barrier for every setting – however small, however stretched. But free doesn’t mean it costs nothing to run. Your support is what makes the difference between us reaching one school and reaching hundreds.

What your support funds

See one of our programmes in practice

In this short video, an early years practitioner shares how EYDP helped their setting use practical strategies to support communication, behaviour and independence – and how it strengthened confidence across the whole team. You can also download the full case study to see how the programme was implemented in day-to-day practice, including examples of resources used and the impact seen both in the setting and at home.

What professionals had to say about us...

Rosedene Nursery

"I’d like to start off by saying thank you! Purchasing the Early Years Development Programme and the resource pack was one of the best things we did! This has opened up a world of knowledge for myself and the staff team here .... It has enabled us to partake in meaningful activities that are specifically targeted and age and stage appropriate for children with Down Syndrome."

Owls Nursery

Year 2 Teacher

"We at Owls Nursery, have been delighted to receive all the lovely resources from DSUK in relation to the very informative videos provided regarding Down Syndrome. We have found the resources to be clear, bright and eye catching. The child we are supporting has found the toileting social story particularly helpful to follow and a great tool for supporting his independence in this area.The sentence strips have been helpful for our child to communicate his choices of activities but also for his friends to communicate and interact with him as well. The feelings and emotions cards, behaviour chart, sound cards and matching activities are all incorporated into daily nursery routines alongside other teaching resources to further support and develop strengths in all areas of the EYFS curriculum."

Lucy Vinnicombe

mum to Ellis

"Just wanted to shout out the DSUK Early Years Development Programme which provides settings with a variety of video recordings plus a pack of fantastic printed learning resources. Ellis’ nursery used his DAF funding to purchase it and they were blown away by how good it was. Staff members across the whole nursery are accessing the videos for their own professional development and it’s lovely to see Ellis enjoying using the resources alongside his friends."

Kelly Toshak

Deputy Headteacher

“Being part of the Primary Education Programme over the last year has given us access to a wide variety of resources and professional learning opportunities to give staff a deeper understanding of how we can support young learners who have Down syndrome. It is reassuring to know that we have a point of contact that we can go to for advice and support if we need it.”

Emma

Year 2 Teacher

"PEP has been a really useful tool for me as a class teacher, with all of the resources in one place to support and assess the child. I love the videos and as a team we have all found the hints and tips incredibly useful. The drop-in sessions have provided me with ideas and solutions to support my learners. I look forward to continuing to use this next year and it has certainly helped us prepare for transition. A great resource!"