The Sensory Play Course is to provide practitioners or parents/caregivers with the knowledge and understanding of the importance of stimulating childrens’ senses. It explains methods to stimulate children in a way that aids their development, it evolves the understanding of overstimulation and its potential impact of this, and it includes elements on how to support and include those with additional needs.

Understanding sensory play will provide a better understanding on how to create classes that will benefit those little brains. Open ended play can allow children to understand the world around them in a safe environment. Sensory play is an important and integral way of learning and watching the magic of children play with no rules (unless there is a danger).

Not only does the course cover all aspects of Sensory Play, but it also includes a business module which provides step by step information on how to set up a business. We will also support you as a business mentor for as long as you need. We want to empower you to set up your business and have a job you love!

For those looking to enhance their knowledge for their setting e.g .Playgroup, School etc. We tailor face to face training to ensure that you are able to gain knowledge for your specific age group and additional needs. It is important to have training for sensory play as this is impacting a child’s development and aiding there learning. Good practitioners will use accredited courses to enhance their learning, which directly impacts a child/infant learning.

Simran and Grace, who together have over 30 years of child development experience, founded the Little Sensory Explorers after failing to find an accredited course on sensory play. So, they created a course that provided students with an understanding of what the senses are, how to create the best environment for children to learn, and to provide support for students and graduates. Simran and Grace have spent a year trialling the course and tweaking it so that it worked perfectly. The course will continue to be updated, as we are all constantly learning and understanding children and how those beautiful minds of theirs work!

The course has several modules, these are:

· The brain and senses

· Understanding the senses

· What is sensory play?

· Movement Play

· Benefits of Sensory Play

· What are schemas?

· Attachment Theory

· Class Structure (we provide a class structure, so you do not have to be creative to plan and run these classes).

· Tuff Tray Examples.

· Understanding the impact of overstimulation

· Autism and additional needs.

· Accessibility and inclusion

· How to set up a business

· Health and Safety

· Risk management

You will receive a CPD accredited certificate stating you have completed your sensory course and will be qualified in sensory play.

Our course was sent to the CPD trainers, who independently looked at our course and ensured it was evidence based, provided students with a new skill, and looked at the course to make sure it took 20 hours of online learning. They ensured the course was accessible to everyone.

The course is 20 hours. We have a lot of videos with information and documents to read for each module. You can go back to each module and read over the information as much as you like. You will have access to the online learning for as long as you like, there is no end date. You can do the learning in your own time.

Yes, we can offer this if there is enough interest. We will hold classes in a venue in Belfast. However, if you are a group/setting, we can come to you and run the training. We will tailor it to your specific needs e.g. ages of children, additional needs.

In person training will take place over one day and is combined with the online learning (9-2/2:30 pm, with a break for lunch). The in-person classes begin with theory.

Morning (Presented via Power point and interactive activities to help consolidate learning)

Module: The Senses and Sensory Play

Lesson: The Brain and Senses

To understand the important parts of the brain with regards to senses.

How the brain communicates with the senses and the rest of the body.

Gain knowledge of the brain and sensory play.

Lesson: Understanding the Senses

Learn how many senses there are.

Learn the 8 senses

Understand how we can stimulate the senses and link them to the class.

Lesson: What is sensory play?

Understanding what sensory play is.

How to create a sensory environment.

Understanding the basics of Maslow’s hierarchy and how it can scaffold children's learning.

Lesson: Movement Play

Understand the importance of infants and children having an opportunity to move.

The importance of allowing children to take risks safely.

How Movement and Sensory play together can be advantageous to a child's development.

How to build relationships through mirroring.

How to set up an environment for movement.

Lesson: Benefits of Sensory Play

To understand why incorporating sensory play into sessions benefits the child's development.

To understand how stimulate the senses helps build memories.

Understanding how stimulating more than one sense can aide a child's learning e.g. reading.

To understand how sensory play may help build new brain connections.

Understanding what can happen to a child if their senses are not stimulated.

Module: Child Development

Lesson: What are schemas?

Understand what a schema is.

To learn what the schemas are.

Understand why they are important in child development.

Learn how to incorporate schemas into classes.

Lesson: Attachment Theory

Understanding the different types of attachment.

How to help children build towards a secure attachment.

How sensory play can help create a secure attachment.

The benefits of a secure attachment on adult life.

Understanding Schemas and the importance of channelling them in classes.

Lesson: Class Structure

· Learn about how to structure a class.

· Examples of class structure

· Benefits of the same class structure

· Class themes that can be used on a weekly basis.

· Lesson: Overstimulation

Understanding the definition of overstimulating.

How to imagine being the child in the class and noting the sensory experiences.

How to spot signs of overstimulation in children and infants.

How to regain a sense of calm and plan a lesson that incorporates calm.

· Lesson: Autism and additional needs

· To have a basic understanding of those with additional needs

· Learn what is autism?

· Understand the characteristics of Autism.

· How to create a Autism friendly class.

· Lesson: Accessibility and Inclusion

· Learn about the equality act.

· Understand what inclusion play is.

· Acknowledging every child is different.

· How to prepare for the class to ensure everyone is included.·

Learn how to ensure everyone feels included and is treated equally.

Module: Business information

· How to set up a busines

· Cashflow document

· Social media

· Logos

· Insurance

· Lesson: Health and Safety

· Lesson: Risk Management

Students will have opportunities to explore the different textures, smells, movements that the children will. They will fully understand the emmerse themselves to experience sensory play from an infant/child’s perspective.

Group bookings will be planned to meet the settings specific needs e.g. classroom specific, baby focused etc. We are here to meet your needs and requirements. Students will have full access to the online course, where they will do their assessments. They will then receive a CPD accredited certificate (providing they pass the assessments).

Online it will take 20 hours. In- Person, it will take a day (9:00-3:00 pm) plus the assessments.

Yes, at the end of each module you can expect to complete an assessment. This is a combination of multiple-choice questions, one/two sentence answers and the final test is an essay question. You have to wait until the module is marked before you go to the next module.

Online: £499

In-person: £599

Group booking (3 or more people): starts at £1250 and includes a sensory play bundle

Not at all, all the money you earn is entirely yours. You just pay for the course, and we continue to support your business grow.

You can run sensory classes for infants and children and run a business, with the knowledge of creating classes that are stimulating and beneficial to children and parents.

You can use the knowledge to plan activities for your setting which will positively benefit the children’s learning and development. Use the knowledge to plan sessions for those with additional needs or help parents with fussy eating.

The course includes all the information on how to create classes with themes and set ups, so if you are not very creative or sure of what to do, then we make it easy to create classes.

No, just an interest and passion for child development and be able to work in regulated activity.

You will need a computer to complete the course/assessment.

For further information please do not hesitate to email thelittlesensoryexplorers@gmail.comand we can schedule a call or chat via email.

Prepare to create a job you love and see the magic of children’s learning unfold before your eyes!