Top tips: Ensuring inclusion
Creating an inclusive nursery ensures every child feels valued, respected and supported. By embracing diversity, challenging biases and addressing ableism, nurseries can foster a welcoming environment where all children thrive. Here are some top tips to ensure your setting is inclusive for all children.
Top tips for ensuring inclusion
- Ensure all children see themselves reflected in the nursery through diverse books, toys and decorations
- Use inclusive language and encourage positive interactions among children and staff
- Integrate stories and activities that showcase diverse cultures, abilities and family structures. Challenge stereotypes by providing materials that break traditional gender, racial and ability-based assumptions
- Encourage discussions about fairness, kindness and respect
- Ensure play areas and materials are accessible to children with disabilities. Teach children about different abilities in a way that normalises diversity
- Provide ongoing training on anti-bias education, cultural competency and disability awareness. Encourage staff to reflect on their own biases and work to challenge them. Ensure staff use inclusive teaching methods that support various learning styles and needs
- Invite families to share their traditions, stories and experiences with the nursery. Collaborate with local organisations that support inclusion and diversity
- Create policies that respect diverse family structures, including single parents, LGBTQ+ families and multilingual homes
- Offer different ways for children to participate in activities (e.g. verbal and non-verbal communication, movement-based learning). Use a variety of teaching tools such as music, storytelling, art and sensory play to engage all learners
- Ensure group activities allow for different levels of participation and do not unintentionally exclude any child
- Show respect and empathy in interactions with children and colleagues. Address instances of bias, discrimination (including racism) or exclusion immediately, using them as learning opportunities. Encourage children to express their feelings and opinions in a respectful way
- Evaluate nursery policies to ensure they promote inclusivity and do not unintentionally exclude anyone. Seek feedback from families, children and staff about how to improve inclusivity.
NDNA products to help you with this tip
Leadership and Management – Live Virtual Classroom
Disclaimer: Activities with children must always be risk assessed, including for allergies or choking. Children must always have adequate supervision. Resources and materials must always be appropriate for children’s age and stage of development.
- MyNDNA
- Tips
Similar Articles
Early years activity: What makes us the same?
This is a fun personal, social and emotional activity that helps children recognise shared qualities…
Read more Supporting young children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) in early years settings.
In early years settings, children with EAL arrive with a wide range of backgrounds and…
Read more 