Discover a wide range of fun, inclusive teaching activities designed to engage all learners, including those with SEND. From sensory play and communication games to hands-on learning and visual supports, these activities help build skills, confidence, and connection in every classroom.
Whether you’re planning quick warm-ups, differentiated group work, or multi-sensory lessons, you’ll find practical ideas that celebrate diversity and promote meaningful participation.
Let’s be honest: another advent calendar filled with tiny chocolates that taste like disappointment wrapped in foil? Your students (and their parents) have seen it all before. But what if December’s classroom Christmas countdown could become a daily dose of kindness, creativity, laughter, and connection instead of a sugar rush before lunch? These 15 DIY … Read more
Christmas Craft Activities Picture this: it’s the week before winter break, glitter is somehow already in your hair (and it’s only Monday), and you’ve got 25 eager faces waiting to create holiday magic. Whether you’re teaching neurotypical students, supporting diverse learners, or working with mixed-ability groups, finding Christmas crafts that work for everyone can feel … Read more
The Curiosity Approach, with its child-led, play-based framework, offers unique opportunities to enhance communication skills. Below are five ways curiosity-led activities, such as storytelling with props and collaborative play, support both verbal and non-verbal communication development in autistic learners, grounded in research and innovative design. 1. Encouraging Storytelling with Sensory Props Concept: Using props like … Read more
As the leaves begin their spectacular transformation and autumn treasures appear on our playground surfaces, there’s no better time to bring the wonder of the season indoors through creative, hands-on learning. Autumn Nature People, delightful life-sized figures crafted from natural materials, offer EYFS practitioners a perfect blend of seasonal celebration, creative expression, and sensory-rich learning … Read more
The Curiosity Approach, which prioritizes child-led, play-based learning to spark creativity and exploration, aligns seamlessly with sensory-friendly strategies. Below are five carefully curated, sensory-friendly ideas rooted in the Curiosity Approach, designed to develop engagement, creativity, and learning for students with special needs. Each idea is grounded in evidence-based practice, drawing on research in sensory processing … Read more
Nursery Object Sorting Games: Fun, Easy, and Educational Activities for EYFS Nursery object sorting games are some of the most effective and accessible learning tools in the early years. These activities support foundational skills across communication, thinking, maths, and sensory development. Whether you’re a teacher, childminder, or parent looking for simple sorting activities for toddlers … Read more
Executive function skills are the invisible superpowers that help students succeed, not just academically, but in life. These cognitive abilities include planning, focus, flexibility, self-control, and working memory. The challenge? Traditional teaching methods often struggle to develop these crucial skills effectively. The solution is simpler than you think: games. You don’t need expensive technology or … Read more
Unlock the Magic of Show and Tell: A Guide for Early Years and Primary Teachers Show and tell isn’t just about sharing a favourite toy; it’s a powerful way to spark curiosity, build confidence, and grow vital communication skills in young learners. Done right, it transforms simple sharing into a rich learning experience, deepening connections … Read more
Learning times tables doesn’t have to be a battle. With modern teaching approaches backed by cognitive science, children can master multiplication facts while developing genuine mathematical understanding. This comprehensive guide reveals the most effective, research-based strategies for teaching times tables that transform struggling learners into confident mathematicians. Why Traditional Times Tables Methods Fail (And What … Read more
Supporting holistic development through crafts, hands-on exploration and creative expression There’s something truly magical about watching a three-year-old discover that mixing yellow and blue paint creates green, or seeing the pure joy on a toddler’s face as they squelch playdough between their fingers for the first time. These moments aren’t just delightful to witness – … Read more
The Power of Play and Transforming Schemas in Early Learning Despite its acknowledged importance, UK classrooms face a tension between recognising play’s value and applying it practically. Play opportunities have experienced “marked reductions,” often because play and learning are viewed as separate entities, with play relegated to a reward rather than a core teaching approach. … Read more
Supporting the Transforming Schema Through Art As early years practitioners, we often encounter children who seem magnetically drawn to mixing, squishing, and transforming materials. These little scientists are exploring what we call the transforming schema, and art activities provide the perfect laboratory for this crucial developmental work. I’ve discovered that children with a strong transforming … Read more
Standing at my classroom window this morning, watching the last of the autumn leaves spiral down onto the playground, I was reminded of Jamie, a four-year-old in my class who struggles with any form of transition. Just six weeks ago, he’d stood frozen in the doorway, overwhelmed by the prospect of his favourite summer tree … Read more
Why a cardboard box full of leaves might be the best language tool in your classroom I used to think story boxes were just another craft project that would end up forgotten in a cupboard somewhere. Then I watched four-year-old Marcus, who hadn’t spoken a word in circle time all term, suddenly start describing the … Read more
How One Simple Texture Activity Transformed Our Creation Story Time (And Stopped the Fidgeting Forever) If you’ve taught Bible stories in EYFS, you know the challenge. Twenty-eight children aged 4-5, different attention spans, varying developmental needs, and a curriculum requirement to deliver meaningful RE content. Traditional storytelling methods often leave some children restless, others disengaged, … Read more
8 Multi-Sensory Learning Ideas for Any Subject Let’s be honest, for many of us, school was a largely visual and auditory affair. Sit down. Look at the board. Listen to the teacher. Read the book. Repeat. And for some students, this traditional approach works perfectly. But what if your brain isn’t wired to learn best … Read more
Making Religious Education Accessible Through Sensory Stories Religious education has traditionally relied heavily on verbal instruction and visual aids, but what about learners who process information differently? For students with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), autism, developmental delay, or sensory processing differences, traditional RE lessons can feel overwhelming or simply inaccessible. Sensory stories offer … Read more
The Circle of Life: Sensory Story and Learning Activities The themes of growth, change, and the interconnectedness of life offer profound learning opportunities for children of all skill levels. Through sensory storytelling, we can help learners with PMLD, SEN, and early years children explore these universal concepts in meaningful, accessible ways. This sensory story experience … Read more
From Caterpillar to Butterfly: Creative Learning Adventures with The Very Hungry Caterpillar Transforming Eric Carle’s beloved story into rich sensory and craft experiences that support the EYFS Every early years practitioner knows the magic that happens when you open “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” with a group of young children. Eyes light up, fingers start wiggling … Read more
Using Blocks for Maths and the Early Years Young children are natural mathematicians, constantly counting, sorting, and making sense of quantities in their world. This carefully crafted sequence of ten activities harnesses that innate curiosity, guiding children through a playful exploration of numbers up to 10. Designed with both typical early years learners and children … Read more
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