Our curriculum is tailored to meet the needs of each child as an individual. Every child has their own outcomes tree which outlines their personalised targets as discussed with parents and other professionals. We offer each child a variety of experiences such as exploring the local community, getting messy, baking, gaining independence and much more!
Our team are all accredited sensory needs practitioners. Sensory processing is the ability to take in, sort out, and process information in the world around us. This can be auditory, visual, smell, taste, touch, proprioception and vestibular senses. The ‘Sensory Needs’ program is designed to help your child with their sensory processing systems by delivering a series of physical activities, which are designed to help improve their focus and concentration. The activities will be a combination of a ‘Sensory Diet’, to soothe or help alert an individual and ‘Sensory Circuits’ at timely intervals throughout the day.
A sensory diet is very similar to a food diet, but involves our senses. It is a balanced diet of touch, movement, visual input, auditory input, olfactory input and oral input. Just like a food diet, individuals may struggle processing one or more particular sense. Therefore, 
encouraging and exposing the individual to a varied sensory diet, can improve the processing of that sense.
A sensory circuit is a short and snappy sensory motor skill programme that helps to set children up for a school day or to help self-regulate them. The circuit also encourages the development of the child’s sensory processing skills. Many children can benefit from attending a Sensory Circuit, even for a short period of time.
Below you will find an introduction to some of the engaging and inspiring activities we take part in at esSENtial Early Years.
We love to bring stories for life for children to develop a life long love of reading. We have a variety of story sacks for use both at home and at nursery, these promote the use of props and role play to implement a multi sensory approach to storytelling.
Interactive storytelling encourages a sense of wonder, develops vocabulary, develops imagination, supports listening and attention and allows children to gain a knowledge of sequencing and anticipation.
Music and Movement sessions support children to develop their balance, co-ordination, memory, social and motor skills. The sessions also aim to keep children active, support their imagination, encourage creativity and develop self-regulation skills as well as spatial awareness.
At Essential Early Years we deliver music and movement sessions in a variety of ways including song times, yoga sessions, musical sessions, outdoor explorations and more! Through these activities children develop their spatial awareness, physical skills, explore their schemas and improve their self regulation.
We include sensory cooking sessions into our directions for learning so each week children use a variety of ingredients to create their own cookery. During these sessions we support children to explore a variety of food items using all senses to increase tolerance of different tastes and textures. We use child friendly tools so the children can take an active role in preparing the ingredients and developing their life skills. Through sensory cooking activities children develop mathematical and fine motor skills, are exposed to new language, increase their sense of belonging and develop social interactions.
Story massage combines the benefits of positive, respectful touch with the creativity of storytelling and offers a way of learning and communicating through play and positive touch. We use story massage in a variety of situations including as part of our interactive and sensory stories, with social stories to help prepare for transition or understand new situations, as part of relaxation.
As a result of our story massage programme:
Children are more interactive and engaged in storytelling, more emotionally regulated, have improved concentration and build positive relationships with their key workers.- Children understand positive and appropriate touch, understand consent, and have improved body and self-awareness.
TACPAC draws together touch and music to create a structured half hour of sensory communication between two people. TACPAC music is composed specifically to reflect the texture of each object so that the receiver experiences total sensory alignment.
TACPAC helps children with sensory processing needs bring order to their senses as it creates sensory alignment and supports children to experience a range of sensory resources including light and sound.
Attention Autism is a learn approach created by speech and language therapist Gina Davies. Through the use of this intervention we develop children’s natural and spontaneous communication skills, support children to engage their attention, improve joint attention skills and increase attention in adult led activities.
The intervention is delivered through the use of visual based and highly motivating activities.
There are 4 stages of Attention Autism, at Essential Early Years we focus mainly on stage 1 and 2; only moving on when the children are confident at each stage.
Stage 1: The Bucket
This involves filling a bucket with visually engaging toys to help children learn how to focus their attention. An adult presents toys to the children and makes simple comments to expand vocabulary.
Stage 2: The Attention Builder
Children are introduced to highly appealing and visually stimulating activities to build and sustain attention for a longer period of time. Again, these are adult led.
As part of our ‘directions for learning’ we hold regular BIG art sessions which include inclusive cross room art projects, floor and wall art, outdoor art explorations and much more!
Our BIG art sessions develop imagination, curiosity and creativity, develop fine motor skills, encourage the use of our whole bodies and all senses to explore a variety of media and materials and supports children to make marks with purpose.
This allows children to be exposes to a range of media and materials, expand their tolerance and different textures and also encourages problem solving skills and team work.
We love our daily dough disco sessions which we do in small groups using different themes and the interests of the children.
Dough Disco develops early writing skills, fine motor skills and encourages rhymes, music and movement.
Through daily dough disco sessions we strengthen children’s hand muscles and their brains begin to learn to control the fingers with greater precision.
Intensive Interaction is an approach designed to help children at an early stage of development. Intensive interaction works on early interaction abilities – how to enjoy being with other people- to relate, interact, know, understand and practice communication routines
Intensive interaction teaches and develops interaction and communication. The activities are relaxed and enjoyable and always motivating for the individual children. Children’s interests are used to form the basis of these interactions. The sessions are frequent, quite intense but also fun filled, playful and enjoyable. Adult and child are both at ease with enjoyment and activity.