Principles of Sensory Processing (Oct 2026)

Therapeutic Thinking Principles of Sensory Processing

This course explores how sensory processing influences behaviour, emotional regulation, and participation in school. It supports schools to move from a reactive approach to behaviour towards a methodology rooted in understanding the nervous system, reducing sensory stress, and creating conditions for regulation and participation. It considers how sensory-informed practice, alongside a strong whole-school culture, can enable all pupils to feel safe, included, and ready to learn.

The Sensory Processing day will examine how sensory differences impact pupils’ experiences, including their ability to engage, communicate, and manage emotions. Participants will explore the eight sensory systems, the link between sensory processing and behaviour, and how internal states such as anxiety, overload, and fatigue can present as both externalised and internalised behaviours. The course will include practical frameworks, including the PEO model and inclusion circles, to support staff in identifying barriers and planning effective adaptations.

It will emphasise the importance of adapting the environment and task demands, rather than expecting children to cope with unmet needs, and will highlight how regulation and emotional literacy underpin successful learning and wellbeing.

Participants will leave with practical tools and approaches to create consistent, inclusive environments where behaviour is understood as communication and all pupils are supported to participate and succeed.