When working in an environment like a school, it is very easy to fall into a habit, whether that’s a routine for the day, a particular seat in the staff room or a phrase you seem to say on repeat in class. Similarly, it is easy for the delivery of sensory interventions to become a habit – and not necessarily in a good way. Our school recently moved buildings, which presented an opportunity for change.

The new active sensory room was a blank canvas, allowing for a brand new approach to our sensory interventions. Our previous model meant having a printed plan of three activities each student would work through when they accessed the sensory room. While this system was effective for some students, it fell short for others, as the sensory diet became too restrictive. It did not allow for any independence or account for changes of need. These plans were also sometimes created when the pupils were in Year 7 and, if they worked, were left in place for a long time. These experiences with past pupils during sensory interventions inspired a rethink regarding how we facilitated sensory breaks.

Another factor that prompted a change in delivery was the volume of new staff that had joined the school over the last few years. Some had little to no training or experience in delivering a sensory intervention. The existing plans had only a picture of each piece of equipment and a time allowance for each activity. There were no further instructions on what to do with the resources, which meant new staff could be waiting for training before they were able to use the resources confidently and successfully. A new approach and set of resources would enable all staff, old and new, to deliver consistent sensory interventions to all pupils. Therefore, a new set of resources was produced to combat these issues and improve the use of the sensory room.

Firstly, we created a new set of activity cards. These were straightforward cards with the name of the activity, a picture of the specific piece of equipment and some instructions on how to use it. Around 25 different activity cards are currently displayed on the walls of our sensory room, covering a range of activities, including throwing and catching, rolling on a peanut ball and pushing a tackle bag. A second set of smaller cards that only have the title of the activity and the picture are kept in a folder. These smaller cards are available for the students to look through when they arrive at the sensory room and choose as part of their intervention for that session. The cards can then be attached to a schedule on the wall for the student to work through. This way, the students can practice some independence by choosing their own activities to help them learn to self-regulate. The students are free to choose the same activities on each visit to the sensory room or to change their activities based on how they are feeling. 

Secondly, we created adapted versions of the Youth Sport Trust (YST) Sport Sanctuaries activity cards to be more appropriate for the students at our school and help enhance the options available in our sensory room.  The YST resources were originally released as a collection of activity cards that pupils could engage with, as part of their Sports Sanctuaries project.  The adapted activities we offer include breathing exercises, games based on emotions, physical exercises relating to stress and outdoor activities that aim to aid wellbeing. In much the same way as the cards in the sensory room, these additional cards provide a variety of activities and physical exercises to aid pupils in their emotional regulation. Both the original YST cards and the adapted cards have been presented at conferences as effective tools for sensory interventions and improved wellbeing.

Once all of the physical resources were in place and had been tried and tested by various students from across the school, training was offered to the school’s teaching assistants to ensure consistent delivery of sensory interventions to all students. The training included the rationale behind the change alongside example interventions and explanations for each activity available in the room. 

The new approach and the new resources have enabled staff across the school to facilitate more effective interventions, improving the quality of education for students, who are empowered to take ownership of their time in the sensory room and help them self-regulate to be ready to learn. The students can develop skills to identify which activities help them best regulate their emotions and behaviour so that they can focus on their lessons. The sensory room and the resources created for it have also been included in Sensory Processing and ASC training for professionals, which is delivered to staff from many other schools across Wirral each term.

In summary, the change of approach in how we deliver sensory interventions has improved the impact on emotional regulation, attention and learning across the school while building independence and confidence in the pupils who participate. Staff across the school have reported that the students who access the sensory room and follow the new plan have been able to engage with their lessons more successfully and are learning how to self-regulate effectively.