Understanding behaviour at the root cause
Sensory Bloom Accreditation is a whole-school training and implementation programme designed to help schools understand children’s behaviour through a sensory, developmental and nervous-system informed lens.
Rather than viewing behaviour as “challenging” or “attention-seeking”, Sensory Bloom supports staff to ask:
What is this child’s body trying to tell us?
Many children who struggle with attention, sitting, handwriting, transitions, emotional regulation, playground play or classroom participation are not choosing to be difficult. Their sensory systems may be overwhelmed, under-responsive, seeking input, or struggling to process information from their body and environment.
Sensory Bloom helps schools move away from generic sensory circuits and one-size-fits-all strategies, towards meaningful, individualised and embedded support.
What is Sensory Bloom?
Sensory Bloom is a practical whole-school accreditation programme that helps staff understand how sensory processing, movement, body awareness, emotional regulation and development impact learning and behaviour.
The programme supports schools to identify children’s needs earlier, understand the “why” behind behaviour, and embed sensory strategies across the school day.
It is designed for:
- Nurseries
- Primary schools
- SENCOs
- Teachers
- Teaching assistants
- Pastoral teams
- Behaviour leads
- Family support workers
- Early years staff
Moving beyond generic sensory circuits
Sensory circuits can be helpful, but only when they are matched to the child’s sensory profile and delivered with clinical reasoning.
A generic circuit may help one child but dysregulate another.
For example, some children need heavy work and proprioceptive input to feel organised. Others may become more overwhelmed by fast spinning, jumping or noisy environments.
Sensory Bloom helps staff understand:
- What type of input a child may need
- When they may need it
- How much input is appropriate
- What signs show it is helping
- What signs show it is too much
- How to adapt strategies safely and effectively
Who delivers Sensory Bloom?
Sensory Bloom is delivered by Petite Therapy, led by a qualified Occupational Therapist and Play Therapist with specialist training in Ayres Sensory Integration.
This means the programme is grounded in clinical reasoning, child development, occupational therapy theory and practical school-based experience.
Become a Sensory Bloom School
A Sensory Bloom School is committed to understanding children beyond behaviour.
It is a school that recognises that regulation, movement, sensory processing and emotional safety are foundations for learning.
By becoming Sensory Bloom accredited, your school can develop a more confident, consistent and compassionate approach to supporting children’s sensory and developmental needs.
Enquire about Sensory Bloom Accreditation
To find out more about Sensory Bloom Accreditation, training packages or implementation support, please contact Petite Therapy.
What the accreditation includes
Sensory Bloom Accreditation can include training and implementation support across the following areas:
Roots: Understanding sensory processing and behaviour
This module explores how sensory processing impacts behaviour, attention, regulation and participation. Staff learn how to recognise sensory seeking, sensory avoidance, overwhelm, shutdown and survival responses.
Trunk: Regulation and the nervous system
This module focuses on emotional regulation, the central nervous system, co-regulation and how adults can support children to feel safe, calm and ready to engage.
Branches: Identifying needs early
This module supports staff to use whole-class observations, screening tools and practical checklists to identify children who may need additional support with movement, posture, handwriting, attention or regulation.
Leaves: Embedding strategies across the day
This module focuses on practical implementation. Staff learn how to adapt classroom routines, use sensory diets, develop regulation plans and embed strategies into everyday school life.
Why schools need Sensory Bloom
Children are increasingly presenting with difficulties in:
- Attention and concentration
- Emotional regulation
- Sitting still
- Handwriting and fine motor skills
- Reading readiness
- Transitions
- Anxiety and overwhelm
- Sensory seeking behaviours
- Meltdowns and shutdowns
- Playground participation
- Following instructions
- Independence skills
Often, these difficulties are managed through behaviour systems, rewards, sanctions or generic sensory activities.
Sensory Bloom helps staff look deeper.
It supports schools to understand how the child’s sensory system, motor development and nervous system regulation may be impacting their ability to feel calm, safe, organised and ready to learn.
A whole-school approach
Sensory support is most effective when it is not limited to a 10-minute sensory circuit or used only once a child is already dysregulated.
Sensory Bloom teaches schools how to embed sensory regulation throughout the day, including:
- Before learning
- During transitions
- Within classroom routines
- During handwriting and table-top tasks
- At playtime and lunchtime
- After emotional incidents
- Before home time
- As part of whole-class teaching
This helps children receive the right sensory input at the right time, rather than relying on crisis-led support.
What do our clients think?
This programme has been absolutely unbelievable. We had previously implemented a number of attachment-based, trauma-informed, nurture, and behaviour models, but none truly addressed the underlying needs of the children we support.
As a school working primarily with neurodiverse children, this programme completely changed our perspective. It helped us understand that many of the behaviours we were seeing were linked to underlying sensory, developmental, and body-based differences rather than simply behaviour itself.
Learning about the body deficits that can impact attention, regulation, emotional wellbeing, learning, coordination, handwriting, and participation has been eye-opening. For the first time, staff truly understood the “why” behind many of the challenges our pupils experience.
The programme is practical, easy to implement, and provides strategies that can be embedded throughout the school day. It has transformed the way we support our children and has given staff the confidence to look beyond behaviour and address the root causes of difficulties.
We would highly recommend this programme to any school supporting neurodiverse children.
– Client
Benefits for schools
Sensory Bloom can help schools to:
- Understand behaviour more accurately
- Reduce reliance on sanctions or reactive behaviour approaches
- Support emotional regulation and readiness to learn
- Improve classroom participation
- Strengthen foundations for handwriting, reading and learning
- Identify children’s needs earlier
- Build staff confidence
- Create consistent language across the school
- Support inclusive practice
- Embed practical strategies into everyday routines
- Improve communication with parents and carers
Benefits for children
Children may benefit from:
- Feeling calmer and safer in school
- Improved attention and engagement
- Better ability to manage transitions
- Reduced overwhelm and distress
- Improved participation in learning
- Improved body awareness and coordination
- Greater independence
- Improved confidence
- Support that feels respectful, proactive and individualised
Implementation support
Sensory Bloom is not just a training course.
It is designed to support real change in school practice.
Schools can access additional implementation support, including:
- Staff consultation
- Observation and advice
- Whole-class screening support
- Sensory environment reviews
- Parent workshops
- Follow-up meetings
- Support to develop sensory regulation plans
- Practical classroom strategy guidance
Enquire about Sensory Bloom Accreditation
To find out more about Sensory Bloom Accreditation, training packages or implementation support, please contact Petite Therapy.