The importance of messy play
Messy play: discover why you need this vital tool in your multi sensory toolkit!
16 May 2025: 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!
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
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
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.
Julie Cowpe-Stephens has worked in Special Education for thirty seven years. Her main area of specialism and passion is in Sensory Approaches to Learning, understanding sensory processing, sensory integration and regulation strategies. She is also skilled at mentoring staff on understanding sensory behaviours; producing CASP plans – (consistent approaches to support pupils learning) and sensory profiles. She has also developed planning strategies with teachers to embed a sensory rich curriculum through themes, topics and stories using high- and low-tech sensory resources, sensory rooms and interactive studios. She enjoys creating sensory learning environments both within the classroom and in other areas in a school environment.
Helen Dillon has been a SEN practitioner for twenty one years working at Fountaindale Special School for children and young adults with complex learning, sensory and physical disabilities. Fountaindale is currently OFSTED rated as Outstanding. During her career, she has provided outreach support to mainstream schools on visual and hearing impairments; adapting the environment; making resources and developing communication. She has supported pupils from Fountaindale on dual placements in many mainstream settings, run summer schools, after school clubs, college placement and provided private tutoring and support to many families.
She loves technology and provides support on accessible programmes and switches used to engage learners on computers, Ipads and touch screens. She has planned with teachers strategies to embed a sensory rich curriculum through themes, topics and stories using high- and low-tech sensory resources; sensory rooms and interactive studios.
Since 2009 her specialism and expertise has been in supporting children and young people with visual and hearing impairments.
The cost is £135 plus VAT per delegate. You can select multiple places on the booking form.
You can pay by credit card for this booking or request an invoice on the booking form.
NEW for 2025!
We will suggest practical reflective practice for this event to support you in implementing your key takeaways from this session in the classroom.
We’ll also offer a toolkit of additional resources to help, which may include further documentation, videos or links to valuable resources/websites.
Please join our Facebook Group, Sensory Support Spaghetti, to connect with us and other like-minded professionals – for everything sensory!
The recording of this event will be in your account at online.hirstwood.com. You will access this using the email address on the booking form and your password (instructions for creating your password are in the joining information).
Here you will find:
a digital recording of the event
a transcript of the Zoom chat
These will be available for 10 days after the event.
‘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’
