✨Sensory Rooms in Education🪷
Should self-regulation be accessible to every child in your educational setting?
When you’re stressed, what do you do to help? Go for a walk? Listen to music? Ring a certain person? Read? All of these things and more are options for adults and for most, these options are generally available even whilst you’re at work.
Children, especially within mainstream schools, are often not given these options. They also struggle to recognise when they’re becoming dysregulated and need time and space to bring them back to a state of calm. We talked about Tom in our last post and how he was unable to remember reaching his crisis point. Sensory rooms can be a lifeline for these children. In my opinion, every mainstream school should have at least one sensory room and/or inclusive classrooms.
🤔What is a Sensory Room?
Sensory Rooms are spaces filled with different experiences which are designed to both engage and soothe the senses whilst also relaxing the mind. These rooms provide a safe, calming environment for individuals who may struggle with emotional regulation. From soft lighting and tranquil sounds to tactile objects and interactive elements, sensory rooms cater to a wide range of sensory needs.
🤷Why Does it Work?
Children, especially those with Social Emotional & Mental Health needs, can find it overwhelming to manage and express their emotions. Sensory rooms promote self-regulation. They are able to do this by providing sensory inputs - often tailored to children’s needs and interests - in a structured and predictable environment. This helps the child find calm and regain control of their emotional state.
Recent studies have found that these rooms are especially beneficial for children with Autism and ADHD. In my personal experience, I find that these rooms are beneficial for all children and have a positive impact on improving their self-regulation techniques. You could even set up a sensory corner of a classroom if the layout allows for it.
⏬Decrease Behaviour Incidents
Imagine a child, like Tom, overwhelmed by feelings of anger or anxiety. Instead of resorting to disruptive or harmful behaviours, they can step into a sensory room and engage with its features. They might settle into a corner with soft cushions and a weighted blanket, finding a sense of grounding. Or maybe they’ll be drawn to a bubble tube, with its gentle motion and soothing colours. These experiences help redirect attention, creating a pathway toward relaxation and emotional recovery.
I can’t recall how many times I’ve used distraction techniques to resolve escalating issues before. Often these techniques have resulted in the child being relocated to a sensory room/area to self or co-regulate. Only later, has a discussion about their behaviour taken place.
Take note of how many behaviour incidents you’re having at the moment and then, if possible, implement a sensory room/area. After the settling-in and excitement period of the sensory room, take another note of how many behaviour incidents you’re having. I’d confidently say they will have decreased!
🤝Co-Regulation
Sensory rooms are also invaluable for co-regulation—the process of supporting someone in managing their emotions. Educators, or other professionals - such as social workers. Can accompany children into these spaces, offering reassurance and modelling strategies for self-regulation. This collaborative approach not only fosters a sense of safety but also empowers young people to develop their own coping skills over time. In these spaces, children often open up more about specific things that may be troubling them. These spaces can be really beneficial for Social Workers, SENCOs and Counsellors who need to understand what is going on for a child so they can better support them.
Some children don’t even know where to begin with self-regulation. They need trusted adults to model how to use the resources available. Once taught, they’ll feel more comfortable in the space and be able to create their own self-regulation techniques. You can often find smaller items of the resources in the sensory room which the pupils can then use at their desks. For example, a child I taught absolutely loved the massive bubble tube. We were able to find a smaller, hand-held, version of this for them to use throughout the day. The child would then sit at the back of the class and turn their hand-held bubble tube upside down until they had self-regulated and were able to rejoin the class.
🔀Adaptability
One of the greatest strengths of sensory rooms is their adaptability. They can be customised to suit individual preferences and sensory profiles. From adjustable lighting and varied textures to calming scents and soundscapes, the options are endless. These personalised resources ensure that each child feels truly supported in a way that resonates with them.
It might sound like you need a lot of resources to customise the room to individual child’s preferences. However, with the ever-favourite bubble tube, you can simply change the colour to their preferred one. You can, on most bubble tubes, take off the top and place small plastic animals inside (ones that float are best as they resurface once the machine is switched off). These little adjustments can make a huge difference in a child feeling even more relaxed within the sensory room.
⭐My Top 5 Sensory Room Resources
Bubble Tube - A tube filled with water which changes colour and bubbles that continuously travel upwards. As mentioned, in most, you can remove the top to place in floating objects.
Touch Sound & Light Board - A board with multiple buttons which light up and play a specific sound.
Weighted blankets - Heavier than usual blankets which promote a feeling of safety and being grounded.
Fidget Toys - Use anything from a screw and bolt to fidget spinners
Fiber Optic Lights - Multiple strands of glowing lights. Often with a timer and different settings.
Summary
Sensory rooms are a safe and predictable space to support children with their emotional expression, and regulation. By engaging the senses, these spaces promote emotional well-being and encourage personal growth. I believe every school should have one! I’m sure after a hard day some of the staff might even find them beneficial!
Five great examples of sensory rooms, Kieran. Something I’d love to see more of in traditional education settings.
An excellent post, once again full of practical ideas. Many of these, I feel, could also be implemented within the classroom environment if a dedicated room (often due to the limitations of space) is not available. Self-regulation is a skill which often needs to be modelled and taught and absolutely can benefit all children.