Nicky Shaw

Nicky Shaw

Early Education Associate

Nicky has been working in early childhood education and care for over 30 years, and brings extensive experience of working with young children, families, and staff teams in her roles as a trainer, consultant, lecturer, teacher, children’s centre manager, and play leader. Nicky’s training and consultancy supports all aspects of professional education and childcare practice with a focus on emotionally intelligent, empathic interactions. She works with organisations across the UK, including childminders, nurseries, school-aged childcare settings, schools, further education professionals, and third-sector organisations, supporting professionals to reflect and grow in their work with children, families, and students. Nicky is a Senior Lead Practitioner Trainer with Emotion Coaching UK and an accredited Trauma-Informed Coach. As a trainer, she draws on her own experiences in trauma-skilled professional practice to design and deliver engaging professional learning that builds confidence, strengthens relationships, and supports high-quality, compassionate practice. Nicky was the Programme Lead for the BA Childhood Practice degree and a Lecturer in Early Years Pedagogy at the University of Strathclyde. Her MEd research explored Emotion Coaching with young children, and she has contributed to national and international publications, including the Scottish Early Years policy, “Realising the Ambition: Being Me.” Her current projects include quality improvement initiatives with nurseries and childminders in Oldham, a mentoring and leadership project in Shetland, an inclusion-focused programme in Glasgow, and the Changing Hearts and Minds Project (CHAMP) with University of Strathclyde. She leads the Scottish Emotion Coaching Interest Group and contributes to national projects including the Attachment Research Community’s Trauma-Informed Resources Group and the Scottish Curriculum Review Group. Nicky serves as an advisor to Thin Raft, a therapeutic horticulture initiative supporting young people’s wellbeing and she is a Fitness to Teach Panel Member for the General Teaching Council in Scotland.

Areas of expertise​

  • Emotion coaching and supporting children’s emotion regulation

  • Trauma-informed practice

  • Neurodiversity and Inclusion

  • Child-centred play pedagogy (observation, documentation, planning)

  • Attuned interactions

  • Compassionate leadership in early years settings

Sample courses

Emotion coaching: supporting young children’s emotion regulation – delivered by Nicky Shaw

Aims and objectives – Delegates will have opportunities to:

  • Reflect on the impact of behaviour management approaches for young children.
  • Consider the science and purpose of human emotions.
  • Explore practical, empathic approaches which enhance children’s emotional communications through co-regulatory interactions.
  • Develop understandings of the practitioner role in creating an environment of co-regulation.

Connection before correction – trauma informed early years practice – delivered by Nicky Shaw

Aims and objectives – Delegates will have opportunities to:

  • Understand that connection is the foundation of learning and behaviour.
  • Recognise behaviour as communication of internal states.
  • Identify when a child is within or outside their window of tolerance.
  • Identify how to respond using trauma-informed strategies.
  • Reflect on their own role as a regulator and safe adult.

Finding calm together: emotion coaching and co-regulation for families – delivered by Nicky Shaw

Aims and objectives – Parents and carers will have opportunities to:

  • Develop an understanding of what their child is communicating through their behaviour and emotions.
  • Understand the feelings, needs, and stresses driving their child’s behaviour.
  • Learn how to notice emotional cues, build emotional safety, and connect with their child.
  • Develop confidence in using the steps of Emotion Coaching to support their child’s emotions in everyday moments.

Neurodiversity in early years: understanding, valuing, and including every child – delivered by Nicky Shaw

Aims and objectives – Delegates will have opportunities to:

  • Explore the concept and terminology of neurodiversity and its role in fostering inclusive learning environments.
  • Investigate the principles of strengths-based working, understanding how they support inclusive approaches to play.
  • Analyse real-life case studies, exploring practice examples of strengths-based approaches in early years settings.
  • Plan ways to apply new understandings within the context of your own establishment.

Small steps, big feelings: a relational approach to supporting transitions – delivered by Nicky Shaw

Aims and objectives – Delegates will have opportunities to:

  • Consider the emotional impact of transitions on children, parents, and staff.
  • Identify opportunities for partnership working in the transition process: children, parents, carers, educators.
  • Examine the children’s views of the transition process.
  • Investigate practical examples of transitions supported through a relational approach.

Empowering little voices: bringing children’s rights to life in early years – delivered by Nicky Shaw

Aims and objectives – Delegates will have opportunities to:

  • Understand how to embed the UNCRC principles and articles in daily nursery life.
  • Gain confidence in helping children express and understand their rights.
  • Learn playful, engaging ways to integrate children’s rights into interactions, experiences, and spaces.
  • Develop a clear vision for continuous improvement in respecting children’s rights.

Raising outcomes together: the power of multiple perspectives in observation – delivered by Nicky Shaw

Aims and objectives – Delegates will have opportunities to:

  • Examine the role of the practitioner in ensuring high quality observation are key to the responsive planning cycle.
  • Reflect on the role of the child being observed.
  • Practise purposeful, skilled observation through scenarios.
  • Consider how to embed observation within the child’s systems of support.

Making learning visible: creative documentation to shape children’s learning journeys – delivered by Nicky Shaw

Aims and objectives – Delegates will have opportunities to:

  • Understand documentation as a rights-based practice that supports children’s agency, identity, and sense of belonging.
  • Introduce participatory approaches that support children’s right to express their views in multiple ways.
  • Explore documentation as a creative, relational process that reflects children’s lived experiences, voices, interests and next steps.
  • Critically reflect on practice examples of documentation-for-learning.

Child-centred planning: a values-led approach to curriculum-making – delivered by Nicky Shaw

Aims and objectives – Delegates will have opportunities to:

  • Examine policy and curriculum expectations for child-centered planning, considering how these shape practice.
  • Recognise the central role of observation in planning for children’s learning and development.
  • Use observations to inform meaningful next steps in learning.
  • Plan responsively and flexibly in alignment with children’s interests and EY pedagogical values.

The role of the adult in play: skilful, attuned interactions in practice – delivered by Nicky Shaw

Aims and objectives – Delegates will have opportunities to:

  • Recognise the requirement for agency in children’s play.
  • Explore the role of the adult in scaffolding learning through play.
  • Understand the core principles of attunement and their impact on adult-child interactions.
  • Develop practical skills in attuned listening, observing, and responding to children’s verbal and non-verbal communications within play.

Reflective practice: looking inwards, outwards, forwards for professional growth – delivered by Nicky Shaw

Aims and objectives – Delegates will have opportunities to:

  • Reflect on the purpose and value of reflection as a professional practice.
  • Consider practical and creative approaches to reflection for early years professionals.
  • Practice the skills of feeding back to feed forward.
  • Investigate purposeful approaches to documentation of professional growth.

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