Supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) starts with supporting the adults around them. Your practitioners are the ones building relationships, adapting environments and responding to individual needs every single day. When they feel confident, equipped and emotionally supported, inclusive practice becomes far more consistent and effective.
As a nursery manager, your role is not to have all the answers — it’s to create a team that feels safe to ask questions, reflect and grow.
Here’s how you can support your staff to feel capable and confident when supporting children with SEND.
Create a Safe, Open Culture
Many practitioners worry about “saying the wrong thing” or missing something important when it comes to SEND. If staff feel judged or anxious, concerns may be delayed or avoided altogether.
What you can do:
Encourage open conversations about worries or observations – This doesn’t just have to be during supervisions and appraisals, do this during meetings, have an open-door policy, encourage conversations within the team.
Normalise asking for help – Allow your team to understand that we don’t know everything and even as a manager at times we need to seek out help and support.
Model non-judgemental language – It is easy, when frustrated to use phrases such as “I can’t believe you did it that way” or “you should have known better”, but for a person with additional needs these phrases hit differently. Try things such as “have you tried it this way” or “thanks for giving it a go, however….”
Make it clear that noticing differences early is positive practice – We all know CPD is key, noticing things that need changing early will have a big impact on training the team.
When staff feel safe to speak up, support can begin earlier and more effectively.
Focus on Confidence, Not Just Training
Training is important, but confidence comes from ongoing support and reassurance. Staff need to know they don’t have to get everything perfect.
Support confidence by:
Offering regular check-ins – this not only ensures that the team are doing OK but it gives them the time to communicate any issues
Discussing real scenarios from your setting – Let them know they are not alone, we have all experienced things in our practice that have shaped who we are today, use this to let them know they are not alone.
Celebrating small wins and progress – Sing these praises loud and proud (unless this gives them the fear). They need to know that they are doing it well too.
Reinforcing that SEND support is a team effort – spend time training the team so that they understand not only SEND in the early years but for adults too.
A confident practitioner is far more likely to try strategies consistently.
Protect Time for Reflection and Planning
Supporting children with additional needs takes time. Without space to reflect and plan, staff can feel overwhelmed.
Consider:
Short weekly reflection opportunities – This could be within the team or with check ins with your SEND team members regularly
Time to review support plans together – Your SEND team members will need more check ins, spend time making sure they are OK and reflect on how they have been in the week.
Opportunities to observe and learn from each other – Peer on peer is key in an early years setting, staff learn so much from observing others.
Clear systems for sharing updates – Many settings have a WhatsApp group or ways to share info together. Make sure your team are aware of this.
Even small pockets of protected time can make staff feel more prepared and less reactive.
Support Emotional Wellbeing
Working closely with children who need additional support can be emotionally demanding. Staff may carry worries about a child or family long after the day ends.
As a manager, you can:
Check in regularly on wellbeing – A quick conversation, cuppa with your team, spend a lunch break in the staff room will help this.
Encourage peer support – Mentoring for your apprentices or just those that are more vulnerable is an important thing to key, like a key person, it is a safe space for them.
Acknowledge when things feel challenging – Let them know that this is ok, we can feel challenges, but there are ways to overcome these.
Celebrate progress, not just outcomes – They may not have reached your goal, but they have made steps and that counts.
Feeling emotionally supported helps practitioners remain patient, consistent and compassionate.
Strengthen Communication Across the Team
Inconsistent approaches can create confusion for both staff and children. Clear communication ensures everyone feels aligned.
You can:
Share updates on strategies and progress – All of the team need to know what is going on, make sure you share all things that you are doing so all of the team feel in the loop.
Ensure all key staff understand individual plans – Share these with your team, make sure they are aware that they need to keep checking back in.
Use simple, accessible documentation
Hold short team briefings when needed – Some people will just need more support and time, be aware of who needs this.
Consistency builds confidence — for staff and children alike.
Empower Your SENCO
Your SENCO is a key source of guidance and reassurance for staff.
Support them by:
Ensuring they have time for the role – some settings now have so many children that they support that they now only complete the SENCO role
Encouraging them to mentor colleagues – Ensure they are supporting learners who have additional needs as well as children.
Providing access to training – this includes supporting adults
Involving them in planning and reviews for those team members who have additional needs
When the SENCO feels supported, they can better support the wider team.
Offer Practical Strategies, Not Just Theory
Staff often feel more confident when they have simple, realistic strategies they can use immediately.
Share ideas like:
Visual supports and clear routines – Now and next boards, routines written up, write ups of the shifts/rotas/lunch breaks so they can use visual cues.
Language to use with children and families – a list of terms that are appropriate, ways to support children, let them shadow competent team members for best practice.
Ways to adapt activities – set up a group pinterest board, share ideas on whatsapp, again shadowing and mentoring are key here.
Techniques for transitions or emotional regulation – give them notice and time where applicable, a sudden unexplained change could impact mental wellbeing.
Keep guidance practical and achievable within daily routines.
Encourage Partnership with Parents — Without Pressure
Conversations with families about additional needs can feel daunting for practitioners. They may worry about causing upset or saying the wrong thing.
Support them by:
Modelling sensitive conversations – this will give them the tools and tips they need to do this for themselves
Providing clear language they can use – again modelling so that they know what best practice is.
Being available for joint meetings if needed
Reassuring them they are not alone
When staff feel backed by leadership, they approach families with more confidence.
Final Thoughts
Supporting children with SEND begins with supporting the adults who care for them. When practitioners feel heard, guided and emotionally supported, they are far more able to provide calm, consistent and responsive care.
As a nursery manager, your leadership sets the tone. By prioritising staff confidence, wellbeing and communication, you create a setting where both practitioners and children can thrive.
Strong teams create inclusive environments — and inclusive environments help every child flourish.
– Shellie Powell, SEND Lead
Useful Links:
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Support: https://showcasetraining.co.uk/send-support/
Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND): https://www.gov.uk/children-with-special-educational-needs