Children's Sensory Therapy Ltd

10/12/2025

Christmas at school can be exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming for some children with the changes in routine, louder environments, and festive activities.
We’ve put together a few simple, practical ideas to help make the season feel calmer and more predictable — from visual schedules and gentle reminders to sensory-friendly strategies and support for school plays.
Small adjustments can make a big difference in helping children feel safe, regulated, and ready to enjoy the festive fun.

05/12/2025

Have your say! 🌟 fans
The Department for Education is asking families, professionals, young people, and anyone with lived experience of the SEND system to share their views in the National Conversation on SEND.

This is a real opportunity to shape future policy and ensure the voices of those who understand the system best are heard. If you’ve got thoughts about what’s working, what isn’t, and what children and young people truly need, please take a moment to contribute.

You can add your views here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/send-reform-national-conversation/

Your perspective genuinely matters — let’s make sure it’s included. 💛✨

Find and participate in consultations run by the Department for Education

04/12/2025

We’re delighted to see this wonderful feedback shared recently by about the Sensory Processing Training delivered via our Occupational Therapist at .

It’s always lovely to hear how the blend of theory, practical strategies, and real-life examples helps teachers and professionals feel more confident in supporting neurodivergent children. The comment about the session being inspiring, positive, and informative means a great deal to our team.

A huge well done to our OT for delivering training that truly connects with people and makes a meaningful difference for children and young people.

We’re looking forward to continuing to offer high-quality, engaging training for those who support our families and communities. If this is something that would be helpful to you or someone you know, please do not hesitate to get in touch-
office@childrenssensorytherapy.co.uk

03/12/2025

A really uplifting morning at the Nottingham Neurodiversity Network conference today. It was wonderful to see such a strong mix of researchers, clinicians, carers, lived-experience voices and community organisations all coming together with genuine purpose and passion.

There is powerful work happening locally through:

NeSS, Minds of All Kinds, Changing Futures Nottingham, Health Innovation East Midlands, local LMHT teams, University of Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University, and a wide network of voluntary and support services.
The level of collaboration and goodwill in the room was inspiring.

A particularly striking theme was how often sensory needs are identified as a primary contributor to distress, barriers to engagement, behavioural misunderstandings and crisis presentations — yet there remains very little statutory provision to assess, understand or support these needs. This gap came through clearly in discussions and highlights an important area for system development.

The networking today was excellent, with so many thoughtful contributions and shared ideas. It really felt like everyone was pulling together to shape more compassionate, joined-up and neuroaffirming pathways for neurodivergent people across Nottinghamshire.

I’m leaving feeling energised, connected and hopeful about what we can achieve when we work collectively. 💜🌈

03/12/2025

Thank you Sarah Dillon Author and Therapeutic Parenting Consultant. I’m sure many of us can relate to this….

It's bloody Christmas!

The kids are on the ceiling so school's just called again
Johnny's kicked the teacher and it's only half past ten!

The Nativity was yesterday but Jess just stood there silent
The T/A was encouraging though Jess remained defiant
She didn't want to be a star, why was she not Mary?
Or even, at a push, a pretty little fairy?

Then there was the party, cakes and crisps and sweets
Followed by a meltdown in the middle of the street!
Johnny said he thought I was a big fat ugly cow
He wanted lots more sweeties and I'd better get them now!

All the other parents were looking rather stunned
Some offering 'advice' on parenting my son
I pasted on my fakest smile and told them I was fine
Then thought about the evening and a glass or three of wine.

Finally we made it home though I almost had a crash
Trying to de-escalate the punch- up in the back
Then we had to find a time to write out stupid cards
To hand out in the morning to all the kids in class.

Jess was very angry as the cards I'd bought were 'crap'
She ripped them all to pieces then sobbed upon my lap.

Johnny was in the living room, he almost broke the door
The tinsel landed in the bin and the tree was on the floor!

Somehow all was rescued through tea was slightly late
Then Jess just sat there moaning about what was on her plate.

Thankfully we made it through bath time, book and bed
Then I sat down with a mince pie and lovely glass of red!

Written by Sarah Dillon

03/12/2025

Breaking news from the CST living rooms:
Today’s Hey Duggee episode talked about “the five senses”…
and the children of our therapists absolutely LOST IT 🤣🤣

There they were, standing in front of the telly, shouting:
“HEY DUGGEE! YOU’RE WRONG! WE HAVE MORE THAN FIVE, YOU KNOW!”

Only at CST would kids be confidently heckling a cartoon dog about interoception and proprioception 🤣

Good job one of the amazing therapists, Jenny, wrote a whole book explaining the actual number of senses for school aged kids, because kids deserve the real story… and Duggee clearly needs a refresher 🤣💕
Jen’s book can be bought below 👇 A brilliant stocking filler!!! 🎄🎅
📚💛 https://amzn.eu/d/fgVExrk

02/12/2025

We’ve added two lovely new swings across our sensory rooms, and they’re already bringing joy and comfort to the children we support.

These swings offer a wonderful mix of calming movement, body awareness, and playful exploration. Whether a child needs a soothing sway to settle or a fun way to build strength and confidence, they’re a brilliant addition to our therapy spaces.

We can’t wait to see the smiles, the giggles, and the moments of regulation they’ll bring. 💛

02/12/2025

We’re proud to be part of the PINS project again this year, standing alongside families and professionals who are working tirelessly to improve support for neurodivergent children and young people.

The Government’s new national conversation on SEND is a welcome step, but there is still so much more to do. Every day, we see how children are held back by systems that don’t yet understand their needs, and how families are left fighting for the basics.

Real change will only happen when the voices of children, parents, and frontline practitioners are truly listened to. We’ll keep showing up, keep advocating, and keep pushing for a future where every child is understood, supported, and able to thrive. 💛

Link to the announcement:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-national-conversation-on-send
fans

Government acts on commitment to put parents’ experiences at the heart of SEND reform through new public engagement campaign.

01/12/2025

25/11/2025

Second training session completed today with the wonderful Chilwell Family of Schools. We recapped the sensory systems, explored how these link to the children they support, and discussed practical sensory strategies they can use in their classrooms. Such a lovely, engaged group who are truly committed to helping the children in their care thrive. 💛

25/11/2025

So well said…

How did SEND education in the UK get to this point?

Because it didn’t happen overnight.

And it didn’t happen because children suddenly became “more difficult”.

It happened because a system that was once built around smaller communities, lower academic pressure and human connection has slowly been reshaped into something unrecognisable.

We have raised expectations. Raised standards. Raised targets. Raised data demands.

But along the way we forgot to raise funding, understanding, training, resources and capacity alongside them.

The law itself is actually very clear. The process for accessing support is, on paper, a good one. The problem isn’t the framework — it’s that there is simply not enough money to pay for the support that children are legally entitled to receive. This is not an accident. It is the result of successive governments choosing to underfund SEND under the narrative that “SEND children cost too much.” That isn’t policy — it’s wilful neglect wrapped in rhetoric.

Classrooms are louder. Curriculums are heavier. Days are longer. Breaks are shorter. Screens are everywhere. Sensory input is constant. The pace is relentless. And children are expected to sit, absorb, memorise, test, repeat.

For many children, that environment is challenging.

For neurodivergent children? It can be unbearable.

Instead of asking, “What happened to these children?”
We should be asking, “What happened to the environment we placed them in?”

In the early 2000s, specialist schools were closed or reduced under a push for ‘true inclusion’ in mainstream education. Support was promised in state schools instead. Funding was promised. Training was promised. Resources were promised.

But in reality, mainstream schools were simply expected to absorb pupils with additional needs into already stretched systems, with very little extra funding or meaningful infrastructure to support them. SEND was never truly funded — but schools found a way to just about cope, because that’s what they have always done. They absorbed it. They made it work.

Now, they can’t. And that is not the fault of “over-diagnosis”.
It is the fault of chronic underfunding, unrealistic expectations and years of governmental failure to honour what was promised.

We then introduced systems of support that look good on paper — graduated response, EHCPs, reasonable adjustments, inclusive practice — but didn’t staff or fund them properly. So parents fight for years. Schools stretch to breaking point. SENCOs drown. And children sit in classrooms that were never built for them, wondering what is “wrong” with them.

Nothing is wrong with them.

The system isn’t “broken”.
It is functioning exactly as it was redesigned to do: prioritise data over wellbeing, compliance over curiosity, and budgets over children.

And now we have:
Children in emotional distress because of school attendance.
Teachers burnt out.
Parents exhausted.
Support staff firefighting instead of supporting.
And politicians talking about “over-diagnosis” instead of taking responsibility for under-resourcing.

We didn’t arrive here by accident.
We arrived here through decision after decision after decision that moved us further away from what children actually need in order to learn.

The solution isn’t fewer diagnoses.
It isn’t fewer adjustments.
It isn’t banning headphones, movement breaks, safe spaces or support.

The solution is a system brave enough to say:
“This no longer works. Let’s build something better.”

And until then, I will continue to build small pockets of humanity inside it — one child, one conversation, one quiet space, one cup of tea at a time.

Because they deserve better. And so do the people trying to support them.

Emma
The Autistic SENCo
♾️

Photo: Nunber 3 was desperate for a shop so we all worked together to make him one.

18/11/2025

From the wonderful Sarah Dillon Author and Therapeutic Parenting Consultant

When screens replace parents

When a child experiences early life trauma especially neglect or a lack of consistent, attuned caregiving, their nervous system develops without the foundation of safety that comes from a responsive adult. Babies depend on coregulation: an adult’s presence, voice, touch, and emotional steadiness help shape the brain’s ability to manage stress, form relationships, and feel secure.
When these early needs are not met, a child grows up searching for something to calm their internal distress.
In many cases, screens become the quickest substitute.
Phones and tablets offer constant stimulation, predictable reactions, and fast rewards. For a child who has not experienced enough soothing, relational connection, the screen can feel easier and safer than relying on people. They begin using it to self-regulate, not because it is healthy, but because it is the only source of consistent feedback they can find.
However, screen use is not a healthy replacement for human connection.
It does not support the brain systems that develop through eye contact, shared attention, touch, and emotional presence. Screens provide dopamine-driven stimulation, not the oxytocin and relational cues that build secure attachment. Instead of strengthening the brain’s capacity for self-regulation, excessive screen dependence can interfere with social development, emotional growth, and healthy stress responses.
When the screen is taken away, the child’s distress may be intense. The meltdown often mirrors the early experience of being left without comfort, because the device has become their main source of emotional relief. Their reaction is not entitlement, it’s a sign of a nervous system that never learned to settle with human support.
The essential message is this:
Screens CANNOT and should not fill the developmental role of a caregiver.
They are not a neutral tool for a child with early trauma; they actively get in the way of the connection, attunement, and relational safety the child desperately needs.
What the child is truly longing for is an available adult, someone who can offer consistent presence, emotional co-regulation, and the kind of nurturing that builds the brain pathways screens can never replace.
Human connection heals.
Screens do not.