Turn Your Passion for Play into a Rewarding Career

Are you dreaming of a career that brings joy, flexibility, and balance to your life? Imagine a role that fits seamlessly around family time, allows you to be your own boss, and taps into your passion for play and child development. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or early years provider, our sensory play course equips you with everything you need to bring engaging, developmental play to life—at home, in the classroom, or even as your own business. Transform your love for learning and play into a fulfilling career with The Little Sensory Explorers Academy

Meet Your Course Directors!

Grace Magennis

Course Director

Grace is an experienced Children's Occupational Therapist and a Mummy of 2. She is passionate about the importance of play in supporting child development and inclusion and accessibility! Grace enjoys spending time outdoors with her family, a good book and scandi thrillers!

Simran McDaid

Course Director

Simran's journey in children's education began 14 years ago, and it's been a heart-warming adventure ever since. Originally from Leeds, she now calls Belfast home, where she continues to light up young minds with her infectious enthusiasm for learning. While her degree in International Business and Psychology gave her a solid foundation, it was completing her Montessori Diploma that truly opened her eyes to the magic of early childhood development. As a mum of two little ones herself, Simran brings both professional expertise and personal understanding to her work with children. You'll often find her down at child-height, fully immersed in whatever captures her students' curiosity that day – whether it's helping them build their first tower of blocks or encouraging them to share their wonderfully imaginative stories. For Simran, every child's milestone, no matter how small, is a cause for celebration.

"Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for Children, Play is serious Learning. Play really is the work of Childhood"

Simran and Grace, the founders of The Little Sensory Explorers Academy have over 30 years of combined experience in child development, they created this course to address a gap they found in accredited sensory play training. After an extensive year of trialing and perfecting each element, they’ve designed a course that gives students a deep understanding of the senses and how to craft optimal environments for children’s learning. It doesn’t stop there—Simran and Grace are committed to ongoing support and updates for students and graduates, recognising that learning is an evolving journey as we continue to explore the wonders of children’s minds.

Course curriculum

We have combined our years of experience with the most up to date research and evidenced based practice to bring you a comprehensive and easy to follow course that will equip you with the skills to facilitate your own Sensory Play Classes.

    1. About the Course

    2. A Warm Welcome

    3. Introduction to becoming a Sensory and Movement Instructor

    4. Assessments and quizzes

    5. Powerpoint

    1. Objectives of the brain and senses

    2. Video: The Brain and the senses

    3. Lesson 1: The Brain and the Senses

    1. Objectives of Understanding the Senses

    2. Understanding the Senses

    3. Understanding the Senses

    4. Senses and the Brain test

    1. Objectives of Understanding Sensory Play

    2. Video: Sensory Play

    3. What is Sensory Play?

    4. Benefits of Sensory Play

    5. Senses Assessment (Please select PDF and submit answers via email).

    1. Objectives of Movement Play

    2. Video: Movement Play

    3. What is Movement Play?

    4. Tummy Time

    5. Tummy Time

    6. Movement Test

    7. Movement Assessment

    1. Objectives of Understanding Schemas

    2. All about Schemas in Play

    3. Schema video 1

    4. Schema video 2

    5. Schema quiz

About this course

  • £360.00
  • 54 lessons
  • 2.5 hours of video content

FAQ

  • What is the Sensory Play Course for?

    The Sensory Play Course is to provide practitioners or parents/caregivers with the knowledge and understanding of the importance of stimulating childrens’ senses. It explains methods to stimulate children in a way that aids their development, it evolves the understanding of overstimulation and its potential impact of this, and it includes elements on how to support and include those with additional needs. Understanding sensory play will provide a better understanding on how to create classes that will benefit those little brains. Open ended play can allow children to understand the world around them in a safe environment. Sensory play is an important and integral way of learning and watching the magic of children play with no rules (unless there is a danger). Not only does the course cover all aspects of Sensory Play, but it also includes a business module which provides step by step information on how to set up a business. We will also support you as a business mentor for as long as you need. We want to empower you to set up your business and have a job you love! For those looking to enhance their knowledge for their setting e.g .Playgroup, School etc. We tailor face to face training to ensure that you are able to gain knowledge for your specific age group and additional needs. It is important to have training for sensory play as this is impacting a child’s development and aiding there learning. Good practitioners will use accredited courses to enhance their learning, which directly impacts a child/infant learning.

  • Who are the Little Sensory Explorers?

    Simran and Grace, who together have over 30 years of child development experience, founded the Little Sensory Explorers after failing to find an accredited course on sensory play. So, they created a course that provided students with an understanding of what the senses are, how to create the best environment for children to learn, and to provide support for students and graduates. Simran and Grace have spent a year trialling the course and tweaking it so that it worked perfectly. The course will continue to be updated, as we are all constantly learning and understanding children and how those beautiful minds of theirs work!

  • What will I learn?

    The course has several modules, these are: · The brain and senses · Understanding the senses · What is sensory play? · Movement Play · Benefits of Sensory Play · What are schemas? · Attachment Theory · Class Structure (we provide a class structure, so you do not have to be creative to plan and run these classes). · Tuff Tray Examples. · Understanding the impact of overstimulation · Autism and additional needs. · Accessibility and inclusion · How to set up a business · Health and Safety · Risk management

  • What qualification will I get at the end of it?

    You will receive a CPD accredited certificate stating you have completed your sensory course and will be qualified in sensory play.

  • What does accredited mean?

    Our course was sent to the CPD trainers, who independently looked at our course and ensured it was evidence based, provided students with a new skill, and looked at the course to make sure it took 20 hours of online learning. They ensured the course was accessible to everyone.

  • What can I expect from the online learning?

    The course is 20 hours. We have a lot of videos with information and documents to read for each module. You can go back to each module and read over the information as much as you like. You will have access to the online learning for as long as you like, there is no end date. You can do the learning in your own time.

  • Are there in person classes?

    Yes, we can offer this if there is enough interest. We will hold classes in a venue in Belfast. However, if you are a group/setting, we can come to you and run the training. We will tailor it to your specific needs e.g. ages of children, additional needs. In person training will take place over one day and is combined with the online learning (9-2/2:30 pm, with a break for lunch). The in-person classes begin with theory. (Presented via Power point and interactive activities to help consolidate learning) Students will have opportunities to explore the different textures, smells, movements that the children will. They will fully understand the emmerse themselves to experience sensory play from an infant/child’s perspective. Group bookings will be planned to meet the settings specific needs e.g. classroom specific, baby focused etc. We are here to meet your needs and requirements. Students will have full access to the online course, where they will do their assessments. They will then receive a CPD accredited certificate (providing they pass the assessments).

  • How long will it take?

    Online it will take 20 hours. In- Person, it will take a day (9:00-3:00 pm) plus the assessments.

  • Are there assessments?

    Yes, at the end of each module you can expect to complete an assessment. This is a combination of multiple-choice questions, one/two sentence answers and the final test is an essay question. You have to wait until the module is marked before you go to the next module.

Become an accredited Sensory Play Practitioner today!