Trainee Inclusion Support Lead

Job Title:   Trainee Inclusion Support Lead  

Salary: From £DOE

Location: Hybrid / Field based (area specific)

Type of Role:  Full Time / Permanent / 37.50

Travel: Travel expected to our offices, HO in Northampton and offices in London / Nursery settings

Working from a home base, regular travel to nurseries in England some travel to nurseries across England and Scotland is a requirement of this role

Closing Date: 28th February 2026

Purpose of the Role

The  Trainee Inclusion Support Lead (ISL) is a peripatetic role (some home and some field-based working) within the Inclusion Team at Bright Horizons UK and provides hands-on inclusion and pedagogical advice and support for nursery teams to improve the interventions and  outcomes for children under 5, who are vulnerable, have Special Educational needs or disabilities or require Additional Support for Learning. This includes Speech, Language and Communication (SLCN) needs, English as an additional language (EAL) or children where early intervention is needed to support their emotional wellbeing needs (EWN), by working in partnership with the Head of Inclusion, Heads of Early Childhood, Early Childhood Specialists, Nursery Management teams, SENCOs and nursery practitioners through the provision of high-quality training, advice and support.  The role prioritises the voice of the child through the Children’s Voice Charter, ensuring decisions are informed by children’s lived experiences. This role involves supporting IESH Leads during nursery visits to targeted sites, as directed by the Head of Inclusion, delivering intensive support where it is required. The IESL is required to deliver specialist training and advice around special educational needs and disabilities, and speech, language and communication needs to enable children to receive and nurseries to achieve the highest quality care and education practices.  The trainee EISL’s key role is to work in collaboration with other Inclusion Team members to support vulnerable children and families, including children with SEND/ASL and SLCN and EN secures Bright Horizons as the provider of choice for families and corporate clients. 

In addition, the trainee IESL will work alongside the Inclusion Team Lead to provide remote support to Nurseries, through the Inclusion Help Desk including general advice and guidance and specific support in relation to Education, Health Care Plans, local authority funding models and other regulatory/legal guidance. The role works alongside the Head of Inclusion, Inclusion Early Support Leads, Inclusion Lead and the wider Early Childhood Team, to drive our support for children with additional needs. The trainee IESL will also be supported to work closely with Early Childhood Specialists to implement both the Early Childhood and Inclusion strategies, identifying the priorities for vulnerable children and children with SEND/ASL and/or SLCN and or EWN including EAL.  The trainee IESL will offer advice and support in collaboration with colleagues from Health & Safety, Safeguarding, HR and Operation teams, liaising closely with to promote high-quality nursery environments and best practice pedagogy.

The trainee IESL understands their responsibility of all elements of Keeping Everyone Safe, including sharing concerns about the suitability of colleagues in accordance with regulatory duty.   The trainee IESL will work along IESLs to provide coaching and mentoring to Nursery Management teams, nursery SENCOs and practitioners, including attending meetings (team meetings, review meetings etc).  This post-holder will work closely with the Head of Inclusion to target improvement and deliver training both face-to-face and virtually. The post will provide support to embed The Nurture Model, Thrive and the Inclusion strategy. The trainee IESL will elevate Bright Horizons’ commitment to emotionally responsive, inclusive early years education through supporting the national implementation of the Thrive Approach and Nurture Model frameworks, including the delivery of remote and face to face training, to enhance children’s emotional wellbeing, resilience, and developmental outcomes.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities

• Driving high performance and results to support the Inclusion strategy

• Timely delivery of projects/resources

• To maintain sector-specific knowledge

• Timely submission of business expenses

• Personal commitment to deliver the highest levels of professionalism with all stakeholders

• Delivery of training,

• In partnership with the ECS, provide enhanced support and modelling of strategies around specific vulnerable children within the nursery, including those with SEND/ASL, SLCN and EAL.

• Taking responsibility for own personal and professional development, accessing ‘high level’ training and development activities that inform pedagogy based on national and international perspectives of ‘best practice’

Essential Experience

• Experienced Early Childhood practitioner/advisor with proven outstanding SEND/inclusion provision

• Strong understanding of the Bright Beginnings Curriculum

• Experience of working with children with SEND/ASL and/or SLCN and/or EWN in early years settings

• Confident decision-maker, with the proven ability to support change and inspire innovation; a sound understanding of pedagogical excellence within a large nursery organisation, with the ability to follow guidelines and providing support to others to achieve success

• Significant experience (more than 5 years) within the Early Childhood industry, with good understanding of relevant legislative frameworks, safeguarding and child-protection requirements, pedagogical and ‘best practice’

• Able to use IT to support all aspects of training, reporting and input of relevant quality monitoring data to drive quality and measure the impact of inclusion initiatives in nurseries

Desired Experience

• Previous experience of supporting early childhood pedagogy in settings and delivery of training and development activities across a wide geographical area

• Previous experience of coaching and mentoring others to drive pedagogical/inclusive excellence and compliance

• Experience of using practitioner networks to promote a shared community of practice that extends over a wide geographical area and contributes effectively to quality improvement in early childhood settings

• Knowledge and understanding of all regulatory requirements and inspection processes in the UK

Essential Qualifications

• Broad academic education – Maths & English Function Skill Level 2 or C/4 GCSE (Essential)

• The Nurture Module Practitioner (Completion of Five module Training) (Essential)

• Designated Safeguarding Lead Training (Desirable)

• Thrive Licensed Practitioner (Desirable)

• Minimum level 3 in Early Childhood related subject/Early Childhood Educator qualification in line with DfE Qualifications Framework (Essential)

• Level 3 Qualification in SEND/ALN provision (desirable) or similar

• Evidence of continuous professional development and awareness of current SEND and/or ALN

• national initiatives (Essential)

• Relevant undergraduate degree in Early Childhood related subject (Desirable)

• Certificate in Education, Qualified Teacher Status or Adult Education Teaching Certificate (or equivalent) (Desirable)

• Full, clean driving licence (Essential)

• Evidence of professional qualifications/training/experience in the following areas: (Desirable)

  • SEND/Inclusion/ASL

  • Communication and Language development in young children

  • English as an Additional Language

  • Personal, social and emotional development in young children

  • Occupational Therapy or similar

  • Emotional Wellbeing Needs

Personal Attributes

• Excellent influencer, change-maker and effective communicator (oral and in writing)

• Highly motivated and driven, achieving positive impact and meeting deadlines

• Ability to listen, build trust and develop cohesive teams – strong empathy, clear expectations and fair-minded

• Balances strategic vision with operational delivery

• High energy and thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with a calm approach and ‘can-do’ attitude

• Able to use data and numerical detail effectively to inform strategy, measure impact and drive quality

• Ability to travel within the UK; flexibility to work at home or from a regional office as required, with overnight stays as necessary

Bright Horizons is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. This post is subject to safer recruitment practice and pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS check, which will be undertaken before any appointment is confirmed. We are an inclusive employer and welcome people from all backgrounds to apply. We will consider reasonable adjustments required by applicants. If you share our passion, values, and have most of the skills listed, we encourage you to apply – as you may be just what we are looking for!

We look forward to receiving your application!

If you experience any problems, please email [email protected] and we will be happy to help.