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Nicole Bateman: The Friendly SEND Advisor

@thefriendlysendadvisor

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Supporting Children's Activity Providers with Neuro-inclusion
GBEA 2025 Winner #SBS #iAlso100
Jumping the Inclusion Gap Campaign 👇

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@benshephardofficial definitely got the prize for the most unique jump so far...

I went to @ideas_fest on a mission to get lots of people jumping or moving or holding the sign (because you don't have to jump to be involved) as part of my Jumping the Inclusion Gap Campaign because so many neurodivergent children and those with disabilities miss out on activities they love, sports, arts, STEAM, theatre and we need to change that.

The petition to the Government is live so please do go to @thefriendlysendadvisor bio to add your signature to call for ring fenced funding that activity providers can access if a child needs additional adults to ensure every child can actually access activities that bring childhood joy.

Sign the petition, record a video of you jumping or wheeling or stepping over the inclusion gap and share.

We want a response from the Government and we want EVERY child to be able to take part in activities they love and feel like they belong.

Who likes Ben's unique jump!?! And who's going to jump the inclusion gap with us!?

We will see later this week if his co-founder of @forskinofficial @joeldommett can out jump him...

#TheFriendlySENDAdvisor #JumpingTheInclusionGap #ChildrensActivities #SEND by @thefriendlysendadvisor

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25 days ago

Thank you to all who have worked with me in 2025, it's been so brilliant to see the enthusiasm and passion to want to ensure that no child misses out on activities they love!

Grateful to have partnered with @childrensactivitiesassociation and @clubhubuk as well as other suppliers in the industry like @dotstripeuk @ceryskeneally @bookthatin and @nicgrayadhd for The Adapt and Include SEND Conference.

Well done to @boogiebeatglos @hannah_boogiebeat @yemtheatreschool @iamemilydance @bumblebeebeatz who have achieved their Gold SEND inclusion mark and many others working through that right now.

Well done to @kidslingofranchisehq @storyrangers and @inventorsandmakers for putting all your franchisees through the Silver SEND/ASN Inclusion Mark Training.

Great to be providing ongoing support for @fsportsandplay @razzschools @strikebackdefence @jiggywrigglersuk @lajolierondeltd into next year as well as this year.

Thank you to those of you who have had training for your organisation, 1:1s, came to the conference and also have worked with Tamara and I with our inclusive accelerator (Instagram won't let me tag you all!)

If you are activity provider who wants to train your team in understanding the brain, nervous system, sensory and emotional needs of children and equip them with real life practical strategies that work in the activity and tutoring sector then send me a DM and we can set up a chat and make a plan for 2026.

PD: graphic with a beige background and logos of all the organisations tagged in the post plus more that Nicole has supported in 2025

#ChildrensActivityProviders #CAA #Neuroinclusion #SEND by @thefriendlysendadvisor

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9 months ago

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a year ago

@entrepreneursgb 2025 Winner to 2026 Judge

Thank you to the Great British Entrepreneur Awards Team led by @frankie_j4y for the honour of inviting me to be one of the judges for this year's awards.

Last year I entered the Early Stage Stand Out Category with zero expectations, I saw the application writing itself as such a helpful exercise in helping me reflect on my first year of @thefriendlysendadvisor so when I was announced as a finalist I was very excited.

The awards ceremony itself, held at @grosvenorhouselondon was like being whisked off to a Cinderella movie setting with so many amazing entrepreneurs in one massive room.

I was filming as my name was read out and appeared on the big screen but when I was announced as winner by @calv_eden I dropped my phone in shock 😲 and even forgot to pick up my award before going on stage 😂🙌

Reading through some of the entries for this year's awards has been so interesting and I've loved seeing the big variety that the 2026 finalists bring. If you are a finalist but haven't yet got your ticket I would really encourage you to go because it really does feel like a dream. I went by myself last year, and was unsure about how it would be, but made new friends and bumped into some lovely fellow winners I knew like Robin, Channon and Natasha.

Who will I see at The Great British Entrepreneur Awards this year?

PD: red and navy graphic with a picture of Nicole saying Official judge 2026 second photo of Nicole smiling with her award wearing a green dress

#TheFriendlySENDAdvisor #GBEA #FemaleFounder #Neuroinclusion by @thefriendlysendadvisor

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3 days ago

Last week I went to chat with my local MP @tomhayesmp

Tom is a great advocate for play, works closely with @playengland and chairs the APPG for Play and having spoken to him before I know he's an MP who cares about equal opportunities for children.

I went to chat with him about the Every Child Can enrichment paper and my petition to create a SEND access fund because of what I see working in the children's activities industry and as a mum of a child with SEND.

I see and work with providers who care and want to do all they can to include all children

I also see kids like my son who can't access lots of after school clubs etc without additional adult support.

Often there are 3 options if a child needs additional adult support and none of them are ok

1. The provider has to find additional money to pay for an additional adult (which for many small businesses is not viable and definitely not sustainable long term)

2. The provider has to ask the parent to stay (which is not great for working parents or parents who have other kids plus all the extra safeguarding risks etc)

3. The provider has to tell the family that they can't meet the needs of the child and so the child misses out on activities they love.

Goodwill cannot fund inclusion alone so therefore we need a ring fenced SEND access fund for community groups to be able to access in the Governments new enrichment plans.

Go to @thefriendlysendadvisor bio to sign the petition... and do share with others so every child actually can access activities they love.

PD: picture of Nicole and Tom with words saying last week I met with my local MP to share about children missing out

#SEND #EveryChildCan #JumpingTheInclusionGap #TheFriendlySENDAdvisor #ChildrensActivities by @thefriendlysendadvisor

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4 days ago

What was your 'thing' at 10? (Or things?)

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately and realised I definitely didn’t just have one.

I had swimming, netball, flute, piano and @stagecoachworldwide

I loved having lots of different things to throw myself into. When I was 10 @malonegareth was my drama teacher at Stagecoach Poole for a few terms and even helped me prepare an Alice and Wonderland monologue for the audition that led to me getting an all-rounder scholarship at school.

Looking back, those activities gave me so much more than skills, they gave me confidence, different groups of people to belong with, places to express myself and lots of different ways to work out who I was.

A child’s ‘thing’ doesn’t have to be one thing.

It might be sport, music, drama, gaming, lego, animals, coding, dancing or something really niche that they could talk about for hours. Or it might be their ' things' like me!

Because activities are rarely ‘just’ activities, they can be confidence, connection, regulation, joy, identity, belonging, or simply somewhere a child feels more like themselves.

So I’m getting ready to start asking people, What was your thing at 10? What made you light up? What did you get completely absorbed in?

I’ve got my phone, two little microphones, a rather large number 10 and a growing list of people I’d love to chat to (thanks for your nominations yesterday)

And there’s a bigger reason behind it too because so many neurodivergent children and those with disabilities are still missing out on activities they love because the support that would help them access activities isn’t quite there and some children haven’t even had the chance to find their thing, or their things, yet.

I really want to help change that.

More soon…

But first, I’d love to know: what was your thing at 10? Tell me in the comments

#YourThingAt10 #JumpingTheInclusionGap #TheFriendlySENDAdvisor #Stagecoach #ChildrensActivities by @thefriendlysendadvisor

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5 days ago

It started with a jump, for the kids missing out...

At @ideas_fest , I asked @benshephardofficial @aj11ace , @curtispritchard12 , @iamhollymatthews @helenshub.uk @meganhumphreys_ @louiswxtkins @happyconfidentcompany and so many other brilliant people, to Jump the Inclusion Gap with me.

A little movement of joy (jumping, stepping or wheeling over the gap) for the children who are still missing out on the activities they love.

And I loved seeing people get behind it.

But afterwards I kept thinking...

I want to go deeper than the jump.

Because when we think back to being 10, so many of us had a ‘thing’, or several things.

The sport, the music. the drama class. the hobby we could disappear into. the place we found our people. The thing that gave us confidence, regulation, joy, belonging or simply somewhere we could be ourselves.

And that made me wonder:

What was their thing at 10?

What did it give them?

What do they understand about that child now?

What did the adults around them get right... and what might they have missed?

So I’m starting something new:

YOUR THING AT 10

Short, relaxed conversations about who people were before we knew who they became.

And there’s a reason I want to tell these stories.

Too many neurodivergent children and children with disabilities can’t access things they love because the support they need to take part isn’t there.

Others haven’t even been given enough opportunity to discover their thing, or their things, yet.

I want to help change that.

Because every child deserves the chance to find their thing.

I’m filming the first conversation tomorrow...

Whose 'Thing at 10' would you love me to find out? Tag them below and let's see if we can start the conversation...

#YourThingAt10 #TheFriendlySENDAdvisor #JumpingTheInclusionGap #ChildrensActivities by @thefriendlysendadvisor

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6 days ago

One of my favourite things is seeing that moment when a provider realises: 'Oh, I can adapt this.’

One provider simply reduced the amount of verbal instructions they were giving, added some visuals and allowed a little more processing time.

Such small changes but the outcome was a child who could understand what was happening, felt much more comfortable and actually join in.

Another impact was the provider felt more confident because they knew what they could do differently.

That’s what providers get from GOLD.

The GOLD CPD Certified SEND Inclusion Mark Training helps providers to feel confident noticing barriers, looking beneath behaviour and make those little changes that help more children feel like they belong in your sessions.

The next cohort starts on Monday, comment GOLD if you want in!

PD: picture of Nicole speaking on a panel with words above saying more confident providers = more children included

Photo @jodiecoolingphotography

#TheFriendlySENDAdvisor #Neuroinclusion #ChildrensActivityProviders #SENDTraining by @thefriendlysendadvisor

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7 days ago

@curtispritchard12 shared why movement and music are so important when I spoke with him at @ideas_fest

He shared what dance gave him when he was younger and how movement and music makes people smile, makes people happy, makes people relax and makes people feel included.

THIS is exactly what ALL children should have access to and have the chance to enjoy movement and music but unfortunately in reality so many neurodivergent children and those with disabilities still miss out.

This is why I'm so passionate about working with amazing activity providers who care to make the whole family experience more accessible and inclusive.

Movement and music are so important but goodwill cannot fund inclusion alone which is why I'm calling on the Government to ring fence SEND Funding in their Every Child can enrichment promise and I need your help.

If you believe that every child should actually access movement and music then go to @thefriendlysendadvisor bio, sign and share.

Thank you Curtis for sharing your support and Jumping the Inclusion Gap with me.

#TheFriendlySENDAdvisor #DanceClub #Movement #SEND sign created by @elena.foxmade by @thefriendlysendadvisor

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8 days ago

Last week I was one of 100 Founders that got invited to @googleuk for the @helpbnk sprint and what a day it was!

This was not just your usual inspiring business event, it was more than that, it was super practical and gave us time to actually implement and work through sticking points in our business on our tables (shout out the our wonderful mentor @adamsmi7h and the table 10 crew @square1sport @x.onyx.x @thefreshfriends @giggle.gifts @turilicious_sauces @cain.omen @get_going_with_nadia ) great to chat with @orth_otics too who is making such an important product and see @brownieandthebean and @emilyairey_ to walk in together (thanks @superdinkyuk)

Thank you Tobias, @miss_holly_mann and @adrienhastert for some strategy and frameworks that are achievable but impactful.

When they run a day like this again, fellow small business friends apply to go because you'll learn and implement things that will definitely help build your confidence to go for your mission and your dream even more!

I'm on a mission to make sure no child misses out on activities they love through @thefriendlysendadvisor and if you believe every child should be able to access sport, theatre, STEAM Clubs and more too pop a 🙌 in the comments!

Thank you Helpbnk team and Google for creating such an impactful day!

#TheFriendlySENDAdvisor #SmallBusiness #Helpbnk #Neuroinclusion by @thefriendlysendadvisor

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10 days ago

Hear what some of our current GOLD Crew say about the GOLD CPD Certified SEND Inclusion Mark Training...

'This course has really helped me to consider the individual needs of not just every child that attends my classes but also their parents and any anxieties that they may have about allowing their child to attend our clubs. It has allowed me to reflect on the structure and delivery of each session to make them as inclusive as they can be. Would highly recommend this informative course, thank you for sharing your expertise Nicole and Frankie.'

'The course has been a real eye opener in all the best ways! It has taught me to meet every child and their needs exactly where they are! It has been noticed by the parents of our SEND children who feel even more seen and welcome now! Such a great investment for me and for my future families!'

The next cohort starts on October 5th (this coming Monday) so if you are wanting to be part of a small group of activity providers and tutors who care about inclusion but want to be more consistent and clear in how best to support neurodivergent children and those with disabilities across your sessions and whole family journey then GOLD is for you!

Go to the 🔗 in my bio and DM if you want a payment plan.

PD: picture of Nicole smiling sitting on a bus with screenshots of messages as written above

#TheFriendlySENDAdvisor #ChildrensActivities #Neuroinclusion #SEND by @thefriendlysendadvisor

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11 days ago

Next Monday our next cohort of the GOLD CPD Certified SEND Inclusion Mark Training starts and now is the perfect time to join us...

You've settled into your new term and you have come across some situations you want to ask about

You've had neuro-inclusion on your list for a while but never looked further into it

You know you want to be more inclusive but are not sure where to start

What's great about the Gold SEND Inclusion course is that you get Dr Francis Willis (an amazing Ed Psych) and myself for 6 weeks answering all your questions, you get 6 pre-recorded modules to watch when it's convenient to you, you get 3 live Q and A sessions with a group of providers who get it and you get tasks to complete that actually move your business forward.

This is built for activity providers and tutors specifically so it's not just generic SEND Training to tick a box!

Come join us for £297 (and DM me if you want a payment plan) comment GOLD to book your space and look at the FAQs.

#TheFriendlySENDAdvisor #ChildrensActivityProviders #CpdCertified #SENDTraining by @thefriendlysendadvisor

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11 days ago