As you will be aware Sian is our SENDCo here at Jollies and refreshing (and transforming!) our multi sensory room has been a passion project for her recently 
Sian is always looking to help the team fully understand each individual child and really ‘unpick them’ and ‘unlock them’ so we can ensure any potential barriers to their learning are removed for them.
Sian was aware that our sensory room was not meeting all our current children’s needs; so she was determined to work out why and then research and explore how to develop it to appeal to, and cater for, all their differing needs.
Out with the black and in with the white… the room transformed from a dark space to a light one… this immediately appealed to those children who had previously been reluctant to enter and play!
De-cluttering was the next task… there was simply TOO MUCH in the space… it was actually causing sensory overload, which is the very opposite of what a sensory room is designed to do! 
Working out what may have been missing was the next step… we needed to order a few more resources to really enhance this space. So a mini trampoline, some sensory colour-changing (fluffy as clouds!) bolster cushions, an infinity mirror, a sensory switches board to enhance problem-solving and illustrate cause and effect, sensory floor tiles, super soft cloud mats, light up cause and effect resources, a suspended lycra body swing (so children can develop their sense of their body in space and feel the material enveloping them and benefit from this sensory feedback/awareness), different projectors to create various visual stimuli were amongst the many things purchased ready to be added into this exciting space.
This may sound a lot, but the idea is that these resources are now added into the room specifically for the individuals/groups accessing it. So our practitioners will observe their children and use these knowledgeable insights to gain the most out of this sensory space for them as they will change the focus of the room through the resources they are carefully selecting to add in chosen especially for them…. So there’s no risk of sensory overload as groups of resources are added specifically, rather than the previous approach of trying to cater for everything all at once.
The impact on our children is already evident and we are seeing such a change in those who would previously not want to enter this room. We are seeing focus, we are seeing a safe, calming space to self/co-regulate, we are seeing problem-solving and we are seeing superb sensory feedback for our children’s bodies, minds and souls.
We are very proud of Sian’s amazing efforts to truly understand every child’s wants and needs and in supporting our team to help every child reach their full potential and have the highest sense of well-being in this amazing sensory space… here’s to another 19 years of sensory exploration for our lovely Jolly children in our nursery’s newly-revamped multi- sensory room!!
