Special Needs Outdoor Learning Training
SEND Outdoor Learning Training helps schools and practitioners make outdoor learning more accessible, inclusive and achievable for children with additional needs.
At The Muddy Puddle Teacher, we do not believe SEND pupils should be excluded from active outdoor learning because traditional resources feel too difficult, too stimulating or too risky.
Instead, we adapt the environment.
We adapt the resources.
We adapt the method.
And where needed, schools can choose to use our Soft Tools Toolkit, replacing some of the harder or less predictable materials commonly used outdoors with softer, more familiar resources.
The aim is not to reduce the learning.
It is to reduce the barriers.
If you are completely new to taking learning outside, maybe start with our Beginner’s Guide to Early Years Outdoors and Early Years Outdoor Play, then return here for everything you need to develop your outdoor loose parts play.
Why Outstanding Outdoor Play Should Cost Nothing
SEND Outdoor Learning Training supports practitioners to use outdoor spaces in ways that recognise that children access learning differently.
Some pupils may benefit from:
movement, additional space, sensory input, reduced sensory input, practical resources, repetition, visual support, predictable routines, shorter activities, physical regulation or alternative communication.
Outdoor learning can provide all of these.
But it needs to be planned thoughtfully.
Our training helps staff understand how to adapt outdoor learning while keeping it:
purposeful, active, curriculum-linked, inclusive and manageable.
Training Created by Sarah Seaman and Delivered by Qualified Teachers
Sarah Seaman is a qualified teacher, educational consultant, author and founder of The Muddy Puddle Teacher®. With a BSc, PGCE and MA, Sarah combines professional expertise with real classroom experience, helping schools and nurseries make outdoor learning practical, purposeful and achievable. Her work has supported educators across Early Years, primary education and SEND settings to build confidence and create richer learning experiences outside.
Sarah created The Muddy Puddle Teacher® approach after recognising that many teachers wanted to use outdoor learning but felt unsure about curriculum coverage, behaviour, resources, safety and planning. Her training removes those barriers by showing staff how to take the subjects they already teach and deliver them outdoors using simple, sustainable methods involving bamboo, rope, chalk, hoops and natural materials.
Training is delivered by qualified teachers with current or recent classroom experience. This means your trainer understands the everyday realities of managing pupils, meeting curriculum expectations, supporting SEND, working with limited budgets and making the most of the outdoor space available.
Every trainer follows The Muddy Puddle Teacher® approach, using the same trusted methods, sustainable toolkit and practical activities. Whether your session is delivered by Sarah or another member of the training team, staff receive consistent, high-quality guidance from an experienced educator who understands how outdoor learning works in real settings.
SEND Outdoors is Not One Approach
SEND is an extremely broad term.
Two children with the same diagnosis may need completely different support.
One child may seek movement.
Another may find movement overwhelming.
One child may enjoy muddy sensory play.
Another may avoid touching natural materials altogether.
One child may need lots of language.
Another may need very little language during an activity.
That is why our training does not give schools one fixed SEND outdoor programme.
We help practitioners learn how to adapt the approach to the individual child.
Find a Trained Muddy Puddle School & Nursery Near You
See Our Muddy Puddle Teacher® Trained Schools
We are proud to have trained schools, early years settings and educators across the UK and Europe using The Muddy Puddle Teacher® approach. Explore the map to see just some of the schools and settings who are bringing outdoor learning, play and inclusive teaching to life with us.
From small nurseries to large primary schools, our training helps educators use the outdoors to support curriculum learning, wellbeing, SEND, behaviour, creativity and confidence — whatever the weather.
Why Outdoor Learning can be Powerful for SEND
Outdoor learning can provide something very different from classroom learning.
It can offer:
more space, movement, practical experience, real objects, reduced desk-based demand, sensory experiences, opportunities for regulation, larger-scale learning and different ways to demonstrate understanding.
A child who struggles to explain an answer on paper may be able to:
build it, move it, point to it, sort it, show it, act it out or communicate it another way.
Outdoor learning can create more routes into the curriculum.
Trustpilot Reviews 5 Stars 
‘We had an in person training provided by Sarah and it was incredible!’ – Julie , Headteacher , Happy Days Nursery
‘What a truly inspiring way to start our term!
The PD day training with The Muddy Puddle Teacher was fantastic and the staff are excited to start their outdoor learning journey with the children. We are day two in to term and I have seen four outdoor lessons already!
Thank you from all of us at Churchside Federation.’ Sarah Godbold, Executive Headteacher
What Is Outdoor Play Training Really About?
Outdoor play training is not simply about sending children outside and hoping good play happens.
High-quality outdoor play requires knowledgeable practitioners.
Adults need to understand how to create the right environment, how to introduce enough stimulus without taking over, how to recognise when children need support, how to weave learning into play and, just as importantly, when to step away.
That balance is difficult.
Too much adult involvement and the play becomes adult-led.
Too little adult involvement and some children may struggle to enter, sustain or extend the play.
Our training focuses heavily on helping practitioners understand when to step in and when to dip out.
That is one of the most important skills in Early Years outdoor practice.
The MPT Outdoor SEND Approach
Our approach starts with one question:
What is preventing this child from accessing the learning?
Then we adapt.
The barrier might be:
the resource, the sensory experience, the environment, the noise level, the language, the pace, the physical demand, the number of instructions, the social expectation or the unpredictability.
We do not automatically remove the learning objective.
We look for a different route to it.
Booking Outdoor Learning Training for SEND
Step One
Chat with us. We tailor every booking to the needs of your staff, the children, your community and any school improvement plans you have in place. Outdoor play is the platform, but what we want to know is why. Is it to improve oracy, support SEND learners or improve physicality? We can then create a bespoke plan and offer you a range of budget-friendly options to help you achieve them. Book a chat now to discuss options – no booking needs to be made.
Step Two
Want to proceed? We will then select a teacher-consultant for your school who will be your trainer and go-to teacher. We will then work out dates together. Dates are limited so please do contact us as soon as you are happy to proceed.
Step Three
We come to your setting and train you!
Step Four
Receive one year of post-training care from your consultant and a year’s susbcription to our site.
Optional Soft Tools Kit
One of the practical adaptations schools can choose as part of our SEND approach is our Soft Tools Toolkit.
Traditional outdoor learning may involve resources such as:
bamboo sticks, stones, ropes and other harder loose parts.
For some children, these materials may create additional barriers.
They may feel too unpredictable, too heavy, too hard, too stimulating or unsuitable for that particular group.
The Soft Tools Toolkit gives schools an alternative.
Instead of harder loose parts, practitioners can use resources such as:
skipping ropes, bean bags, cones and familiar PE equipment.
The learning intention can remain the same.
The material changes
Why Use a Soft Tools Kit?
The purpose of the Soft Tools Toolkit is not to make outdoor learning less challenging.
It is to make the challenge more appropriate.
For example, a class may normally use bamboo sticks to create shapes.
A SEND group may use skipping ropes instead.
A class may normally sort and count stones.
A SEND group may use bean bags.
A class may use wooden markers to create a route.
A SEND group may use cones.
The concept remains.
The resource becomes softer, more visible, easier to control and, for some pupils, more familiar.
Soft Tools Do Not Mean Soft Learning
This is important.
Adapting resources does not mean lowering expectations.
A child can still:
count, measure, sort, build, sequence, communicate, solve problems, collaborate, move and investigate.
The toolkit simply changes how they access the task.
At MPT, we believe inclusion should mean finding the right route into the learning, not removing the learning.
What Can Be Included in the Soft Tools Toolkit?
Schools can build a toolkit around familiar, versatile resources such as:
skipping ropes, bean bags, cones, hoops, soft balls, PE markers and other suitable PE equipment.
These resources can replace harder natural or loose parts where practitioners feel that is more appropriate for the pupils they are supporting.
The exact contents can be adapted to the setting.
Replacing Bamboo Sticks
Bamboo sticks are useful outdoors because they can represent:
lines, shapes, boundaries, letters, numbers, structures and pathways.
But skipping ropes can often perform many of the same functions.
A skipping rope can become:
a number line, a giant letter, a shape, a boundary, a route, a timeline or a story path.
The concept remains open-ended.
The resource is softer.
Replacing Stones
Stones are useful for:
counting, sorting, patterns, number representations and natural play.
Bean bags can offer an alternative.
Children can:
count them, sort them, throw them, group them, order them, use them for phonics or create number representations.
For some learners, they may be easier to grip, easier to see and more predictable.
Replacing Loose Ropes and Harder Equipment
Where loose ropes or harder resources are unsuitable, schools can use:
skipping ropes, hoops, cones and PE markers.
These can create:
routes, boundaries, shapes, stations, movement trails, phonics activities and maths tasks.
The key is flexibility.
Browse Online Outdoor Play Coures
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