The Sensory Festival 2026
The Hirstwood Sensory Festival returns on Friday 2 October 2026, continuing the celebration of sensory innovation, creativity and a practical, down-to-earth approach to all things sensory, integral to all of our sensory festivals.
This year, the festival has a very special purpose.
The event will raise funds for St John’s Hospice, which cared for Richard Hirstwood at home in the months before he died on 21 August 2025. Their care, kindness and practical support made a huge difference to Richard and his family at an incredibly difficult time. This Sensory Festival is our way of saying thank you, while continuing the work Richard cared about so deeply: helping staff break down barriers to learning through sensory approaches.
The Festival will include live online presentations, bonus video sessions, and access to a rich catalogue of new and previous videos by a wide variety of practitioners, including Richard Hirstwood, Les Staves, Carol Allen, Clive Smith, Chris Barson and many others covering sensory learning, play, sensory rooms, autism, classroom environments, sensory communication, regulation, and much more.
Our live presenters on the 2 October are giving their time for free, helping us make sure that as much money as possible goes directly to St John’s Hospice.
The full ticket fee, excluding the VAT element, which must go to HMRC, will be donated to St John’s Hospice.
The Sensory Festival is for you if you need inspiring new sensory ideas, teaching strategies and easy ways to implement these in your classroom or setting – all from experts in the field of special education! This year, the Sensory Festival will be open from 2 October to 31 OCtober.
This will be a day full of ideas, practical strategies, reflection and shared commitment. It is essential for teachers, teaching assistants, therapists, support staff, families and anyone working with learners with PMLD, SLD, autism, complex needs or sensory processing differences.
The Hirstwood Sensory Festival has always been about sharing ideas that make a real difference in classrooms, sensory rooms, homes and services. This year, it will also be about remembering Richard, celebrating the sensory approach he championed for so many years, and supporting a hospice that gave such important care when it was needed most.
Join us for a day of learning, ideas and generosity — and help us support the work of St John’s Hospice.
St John’s Hospice services include an inpatient ward for end-of-life care as well as pain and symptom management, a Hospice at Home service for people who choose to spend their last time at home and need our support, Clinical Nurse Specialists who support people with planning and pain & symptom management, and a Respite Service for carers of loved ones who need respite time during the day or night. St John’s also offers pre- and post-bereavement support, plus other services you may not associate with a Hospice, such as Social Workers and Complementary Therapists.
To run the St John’s services of the inpatient unit and support services, the Forget Me Not Centre, the day therapy centre, and the community team of hospice at home, palliative respite, night sitting, and clinical nurse specialists, it costs around £7.4m per year. Around 25% of their funding comes from the NHS; the remaining 75% is raised by the wonderful and kind local community. This means St John’s needs to raise:
£602 per hour
£14,447 per 24-hour day
£5.2 million per year
The Sensory Festival 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. It is also very appropriate for parents, carers and those practitioners working in a residential setting.
Ticket information:
Each place costs £36, including VAT, and you pay via credit card.
You can book multiple places using our online booking system.
For group bookings of 10 places or more, you can request an invoice by emailing a Purchase Order to lois@hirstwood.com. Please include each delegate’s name and email addresses on the Purchase Order.
For group bookings, you can request an invoice by emailing lois@hirstwood.com with your booking for the Sensory Festival.
Please include the number of places you want and each delegate’s name and email address.
If you need to raise a Purchase Order for the booking, please email this to lois@hirstwood.com.
+ PRESENTERS
- Richard Hirstwood
- Les Staves
- Nick Sheffield
- Chris Barson
- Sheila Thelen
- Rhyming Multisensory Stories - Victoria Navin
- Sensory Soup - Katie Prestage
- Reachout ASC - Lynn McCann
- My Kind of Book - Ailie Finlay
- Clive Smith
- Dawn Brown
- Pete Wells
- Dr Sarah Moseley
- Simply Sensory!
- Bex Watton
- Lynne Castle - St Giles School
- Sarah Hall - Willows Sensory Service
- Suzanne Little
- Adam Millichip - Tettenhall Wood School
- Caroline Hill - Making SENse
The late Richard Hirstwood was passionate about enabling educators/practitioners to maximise the impact of delivering sensory learning opportunities – anywhere!
Les Staves is a renowned expert in special education, with a particular focus on mathematics for learners with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) and severe learning difficulties (SLD). With over 40 years of experience, Les has developed innovative approaches to teaching maths that break down complex concepts into sensory-rich, meaningful activities.
Where have we come from? Where shall we go?
This session follows my journey through the development of social attitudes and education provision for very special children, with severe or profound learning difficulties. It traces thinking and practice in the 20th and on into the 21st century. It draws lessons, makes suggestions and provokes thinking about the nature of appropriate curriculum development. Many have found this first hand account fascinating!
Nick Sheffield is an experienced special education professional who has delivered a range of popular courses for Hirstwood Training. With a focus on supporting learners with complex needs, Nick specialises in creating sensory-based learning environments and delivering strategies that foster engagement and communication. His practical and creative approach helps educators better understand the sensory and cognitive needs of neurodiverse pupils, ensuring more inclusive and meaningful learning experiences. As a teacher and trainer, Nick is known for his hands-on, insightful sessions that leave practitioners equipped with new tools and ideas to enhance their classroom practice
Chris Barson founded Positive About Autism in January 2009.
Sheila Thelen is an internationally recognised expert in vestibular development and its impact on learning and performance. Based in the United States, Sheila is the founder of Vestibular Training Services, where she applies her extensive knowledge of the vestibular system to help individuals improve balance, coordination, and sensory processing. Her work spans across special education, sports performance, and therapy, making her a sought-after speaker and trainer worldwide. Sheila’s dynamic presentations provide practical insights into how vestibular stimulation can enhance cognitive development and learning, especially for individuals with sensory challenges and neurodiverse conditions.
Victoria Navin is a passionate advocate for multisensory storytelling, specialising in creating sensory-rich learning experiences for individuals with special educational needs. With over a decade of experience, including 11 years at a special school in Cheshire, she connects learners to literature, culture, and history through her unique multisensory stories. Victoria has authored over 30 fully resourced stories and delivers online workshops for educators and caregivers worldwide. She is a frequent speaker at major conferences and has contributed to several books and magazines, making her a leading figure in the field of sensory-based education.
Katie Prestage is the founder of Sensory Soup, a platform dedicated to providing sensory-rich activities and resources for individuals with special educational needs.
Lynn McCann is an independent specialist autism and PDA teacher and consultant, and the founder of Reachout ASC. She is the author of several key resources, including “How to Support Pupils with ASC in Primary and Secondary Schools” and “Stories that Explain”. Lynn and her team provide training, support, and resources to schools and organisations, tailoring their approach to meet the unique needs of each individual. Lynn collaborates with autism and sensory specialists to offer comprehensive services, including sensory assessments and workplace support for autistic adults. She also writes informative blogs and delivers online training through Schudio TV.
Ailie Finlay is the founder of My Kind of Book, a non-profit organisation which creates accessible books and sensory stories for children with additional needs.
Clive Smith has a long association with Hirstwood Training and has well over 30 years’ experience working with children and adults with Autism and complex additional needs. He has extensive experience in working with children with challenging behaviour, those on the autistic spectrum and/or with profound multiple and learning disabilities. As a specialist advisory teacher within a Behaviour Support Team, he is skilled at advising/supporting staff to meet the diverse needs of this group.
Dawn Brown is Deputy Head at Greenside School, Stevenage for children with severe learning difficulties aged 3-19.
Pete Wells is an award winning special needs teacher and senior leader at Catcote Futures, Hartlepool.
Dr Sarah Moseley has over 25 years’ experience of working in special and mainstream education, in roles from teaching assistant to Headteacher. She has a solid research background which includes a master’s degree and PhD in Special Education, focusing on the teaching of reading for pupils with SEND and inclusion.
Helen Dillon and Julie Cowpe-Stephens are Simply Sensory, providing specialist sensory education, alternative provisioning support for children and young adults in the home.
Bex Watton is a SEND Inclusive Education Teacher, supporting mainstream settings and Alternative Resourced Provisions to deliver quality, inclusive provision and meet all student’s needs.
Lynne Castle is a very experienced HLTA at St Giles School, Croydon.
Sarah Hall is founder of the Willows Sensory Service.
Suzanne Little is an independent consultant, specialising in cortical visual impairment.
Adam Millichip is an Outreach Teacher and PE Lead at Tettenhall Wood School. Together with his students at Tettenhall Wood School, he has created the award-wining TWS Podcast.
Caroline Hill is the founder of Making SENse Creative Services