Early Years SEND toolkit - Sensory and physical needs
Strategies and resources that are useful for children with hearing, visual and/or physical needs.
Hearing needs
The Deaf and Hearing Support Team is part of the countywide Special Educational Needs (SEN) teaching and advisory support service (SENSS). They work in partnership to secure good outcomes and a positive future for children and young people with hearing loss.
Assessment, planning, and recording templates
Early support materials are designed to help families and practitioners observe and record a child’s development and progress. For example, in Oxfordshire, we use:
Activities and strategies
- Recognising and managing conductive hearing loss in the Early Years Setting (pdf format, 565Kb)
- Attending and listening: babies with hearing aids (pdf format, 492Kb)
- Attending and listening: babies with unilateral hearing loss (pdf format, 130 Kb)
- Attending and listening: good practice for Early Years hearing impaired children (pdf format, 192Kb)
- Attending and listening: children with hearing aids, BAHAs and cochlear implants (pdf format, 493Kb)
- Recognising and managing conductive hearing loss at home (pdf format, 487Kb)
Resources
- National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS)
- Information about deafness and hearing loss (produced by early support)
- SENSS hearing impairment team information: Hearing loss related to glue ear (pdf format, 281Kb)
- NDCS has more information about glue ear
- School information unilateral hearing loss + Microtia and Atresia (pdf format, 428Kb)
- General advice for EY Settings (pdf format, 211Kb)
Visual needs
The Visual Impairment team is part of SENSS, a countywide Special Educational Needs (SEN) teaching and advisory support service. We work in partnership to secure good outcomes and a positive future for children and young people with visual impairment.
Assessment, planning and recording template
Resources
- Royal National Institute for Blind People
- RNIB Parent Information Guide
- RNIB Play Guide
- Story Sack - guidance and ideas
- Activities using everyday objects (pdf format, 125Kb)
Support groups
- Contact details for VI support - general (pdf format, 116Kb)
- Contact details for VI support - specific (pdf format, 143Kb)
Multi-sensory impairment
The Multi-Sensory Impairment Team is part of the Special Educational Needs (SEN) teaching and advisory support service (SENSS). They work in partnership to secure good outcomes and a positive future for children and young people with multi-sensory impairment.
Physical needs
Fine Motor - (small muscles in hands and fingers)
- Activities to help with hand skills (pdf format, 80Kb)
- Activities for mark-making (pdf format, 293Kb)
- Activities to encourage two handed play (pdf format, 64Kb)
- Activities to help to develop body awareness (pdf format, 216Kb)
- Advice to support premature babies early motor development
- Finger isolation (pdf format, 210Kb)
- Hand arch development (pdf format, 224Kb)
- Hand dominance development (pdf format, 209Kb)
- Hand strength (pdf format, 226Kb)
- Manipulation (pdf format, 211Kb)
- Pre-scissor skills (pdf format, 163Kb)
- Scissor skills (pdf format, 218Kb)
- Tripod grasp (pdf format, 219Kb)
- The fine motor skills section of Treasure Trove (pdf format, 253Kb) contains ideas for activities with a small group of children aged 3 - 5 years
- Using hands: typical development (pdf format, 75Kb)
Gross Motor (large muscles in the arms, legs and torso)
- Gross Motor movement for play (pdf format, 276Kb)
- Baby Walkers (pdf format, 374Kb) - Are they necessary?
- Flat feet in young children
- Intoeing gait
- Promoting lying to sitting (pdf format, 716Kb)
- The gross motor skills section of Treasure Trove (pdf format, 253Kb) contains ideas for activities with a small group of children aged 3 - 5 years
- Choosing footwear for children
- Activities to help with gross motor development (pdf format, 216Kb)
Resources
- Early Years Videos to support play positions for gross and fine motor activities, singing and signing
- The Early Years Movement Hub
Activities to support visual motor skills
Resources
You can find additional information on the Oxford Health website.
Sensory Processing activities and strategies
- Sensory - weighted product advice (pdf format, 226Kb)
- Sensory - touch (pdf format, 302Kb)
- Sensory - teeth cleaning strategies (pdf format, 212Kb)
- Sensory - strategies for challenges relating to food (pdf format, 263Kb)
- Sensory - sleep strategies (pdf format, 263Kb)
- Sensory - self care skills (pdf format, 138Kb)
- Sensory -preparing for busy environments (pdf format, 228Kb)
- Sensory - oral skill development (pdf format, 213Kb)
- Sensory - Hair, washing cutting, brushing (pdf format, 142Kb)
- Sensory - auditory sensitivities (pdf format, 240Kb)
- Sensory - classroom strategies (pdf format, 261Kb)
- Sensory - dressing (pdf format, 150Kb)