Blog: A Sense of Adventure

Jenny Thomas, from The Deep's Education Team, on researching and developing a new workshop designed for learners who benefit from a more sensory learning experience:

For many years groups have chosen to visit The Deep as a safe, engaging and enriching space in which to celebrate the ocean with their SEND learners. A visit to The Deep is a rich sensory experience: the sand through your fingers; the saltwater scent; the ice tunnel chill; the honk of the penguins – all these elements contribute to a holistic awareness of the ocean and its inhabitants. Add to this the impact of our Guiding Team who are trained to recognise different communication needs and offer informal learning opportunities to meet each visitor at their own level of understanding within The Deep’s sensory environment.

My own role is within the Education Team as one of four teachers welcoming school and community groups to The Deep and providing curriculum-linked workshops, formal learning experiences and outreach. Our Learning Centre operates separately from the main visitor attraction, so we process Education bookings ourselves while general visitors and groups book in a different way. Recently we had become aware of a marked increase in SEND groups booking to visit The Deep independently rather than as part of our Education Visit package. Perhaps they didn’t realise they were eligible for all the perks mainstream schools were receiving, maybe time constraints meant they thought a workshop wouldn’t fit into their day, or were they just unaware that we had lots to offer their learners?

To bridge this gap I took the opportunity to learn more from experts in the field of specialist SEND education including taking part in online training led by the amazing Sam Bowen (SENDinmuseums.org) and Jo Grace (thesensoryprojects.co.uk). I spent time in local schools and alternative provision units, spoke to fabulous SEND teachers and, fundamentally, observed, played with and learnt from many wonderful individuals with alternative educational needs and different abilities. From this wealth of knowledge and understanding A Sense of Adventure was born, a new workshop specifically designed for learners who benefit from a more sensory learning experience including those with complex needs, PMLD and sensory-processing disorders.

A Sense of Adventure promotes sensory play and investigation, offering a range of sensory stimuli relating to marine life and habitats. Our collection of tools includes:

• A fantastic lightbox and transparencies inviting learners to visually explore colour, shape and pattern.
• The Sensory Seashore tray containing scented, tactile and taste-safe natural objects for open-ended play.
• Our PECS-style animal basket to encourage learners with alternative communication needs to ‘ask’, ‘respond’ and ‘talk about’ a range of animals in their own way.
• An array of auditory, tactile, visual toys and tools which mimic the sounds and movement of the sea.

Throughout the development stage of the Sense of Adventure workshop I contacted groups who had chosen to book to “look around The Deep, we won’t need a workshop thank you” and invited them to come and explore the resources and find out what our Sea Lab Education suites are like. Most were astounded – they hadn’t realised the facilities were there or that they were so immersive and adaptable for their groups, allowing their learners to spend time in a different space separate from the busy aquarium. As mentioned, The Deep offers a multitude of sensory input – the beauty of A Sense of Adventure is that the sensory input can be reduced or increased as necessary. Many individuals can find areas of The Deep overstimulating. By inviting them into a more controlled environment we are also offering a breakout space which can help avoid overwhelm and potential sensory meltdown.

Indeed, inviting sensory learners into the sessions during this preliminary stage was invaluable to the refinement of the workshop content. They inspired me to add floor mats and increase open areas in the room to offer more full body sensory play and allow carers to attend to any physio needs. I added a ‘surfing’ balance board to increase vestibular engagement and proprioception, the senses that help us recognise our body’s position and movement. I also learned more about the benefits of reducing what’s on offer – I have a tendency to overprepare and display everything at once! Now I understand that ‘a little at a time’ can be a preferable approach to avoid sensory overload and input-blindness. Setting resources away from the initial space allows us to adapt sensory stimuli in response to each individual’s interest and engagement.

A Sense of Adventure has now launched and is available for teachers to book. We contact every group to ensure we have all relevant information about their learners and to discuss the workshop content thoroughly with them prior to their visit. A Sense of Adventure is never going to be a one-size-fits-all session; each delivery of this workshop will be bespoke to the requirements of the group. I also envisage it will never be ‘complete’ as we continue to learn from every SEND individual who comes and shares their Sense of Adventure with us.

- Jenny Thomas, The Deep

All blogs reflect the views of their author and are not necessarily a reflection of BIAZA's positions