The importance of messy play
Messy play: discover why you need this vital tool in your multi sensory toolkit!
22 November 2024: 9 am – 12 noon
This practical course will give you the tools and ideas to make messy play accessible to all learners and clever ways to engage with learners you may think won’t engage with messy play experiences!
Messy play offers a multi-sensory experience that allows learners to explore and engage in fun and meaningful ways.
Messy play allows learners to explore, create, share, engage, investigate, and much more – a multi-sensory activity that your learners will find irresistible!
Messy play supports the development of sensory systems, communication, and decision-making in learners while promoting confidence, mental health, and emotional well-being.
9.00 am Admissions and virtual tea/coffee to start the session
9.10 am Welcome & introductions & a warm-up activity
9.15 am Session 1: The importance of messy play
In this session, you will understand:
the key benefits of messy play
the stages of play and how messy play supports progression between these stages
how to create an enabling and calming environment for messy play
how to use messy play to build trusting relationships enabling learners to communicate feelings/worries and anxieties
why messy play has a high impact on learning
how to link your messy play activities to curriculum aims and targets
10.35 am COFFEE BREAK
10.50 am Session 2: Ready, Steady, Cook! A ‘live’ messy play session!
In this session, you will:
see a practical demonstration of lots of ideas of different ‘recipes’ for messy play – with suggested resources/other strategies to maximise your messy play sessions
discover various ‘adaptations’ you can make to your messy play sessions to offer inclusive; innovative; and fresh/new experiences
understand how to provide messy play activities to learners who are tactile defensive or have sensory and physical barriers or both to accessing these experiences
understand how to use messy play to support SEMH for learners who have complex needs
be introduced to ‘thinking outside the box ideas for sensory learners and messy play
Please note: You will need to follow your COSH guidelines and risk assessments for messy play.
11.50 am Questions and Answers
12 pm Thank you and close of the session!
This course will be appropriate for classroom practitioners from special schools and colleges, mainstream settings with specialist SEN provision and early years settings, and working with pupils with severe/complex learning needs and autism, or both.
All the resources from this event will be in your account at online.hirstwood.com. You will access these using the email address on the booking form and your password (instructions in the joining information for creating your password.)
Here you will find:
a digital recording of the event
resources shared or signposted during the session
a transcript of the Zoom chat
your certificate of attendance
These will be available for 10 days after the event.
Join our Facebook Group Sensory Support Spaghetti to connect with us and other like minded practitioners – for everything sensory!
Each place costs £112.50 plus VAT
You can choose to pay by credit card for this booking. You can also request an invoice by confirming your booking by entering a Purchase Order Number on the booking form.
‘It has been one of the best courses I have attended recently! Loved the enthusiasm’
‘It was very informative and has given me lots of further avenues to explore.’
‘The trainers are able to engage the listeners in an amusing way. Questions were answered promptly and links or resources are shared immediately.’
‘Practical ideas and a renewed understanding of sensory differences’
‘Learning about creating the learning environment and expanding use of sensory resources’
