Definitions.

There is so much terminology used by educators working with children with severe, complex and profound learning needs that it needs defining so that it is interpreted correctly. The definitions below is terminology used within The Springboard Curriculum and The Springboard Curriculum: Assessment Framework. We will be adding to this glossary of terms over time.

What do we mean when we say…?

Assessment - Understanding a pupil’s strengths and challenges in order to inform therapeutic and educational planning.

Ayres Sensory Integration - Ayres Sensory Integration therapy is a highly specialised intervention conducted by therapists who have completed postgraduate education in Ayres Sensory Integration. See sensory integration below!

Carousel Play - A series of activities carefully planned and set up to inspire play and learning. Within each activity, pupils may show learning in any of the core curriculum areas of cognition, communication, physical and sensory and personal, social and emotional development. Pupils are empowered to move between activities, make choices and initiate engagement in different activities. Read more about carousel play in our blog post.

Communication - to communicate is the ability to exchange information.

Educators - Any person who engages with a child and provides them with opportunities to interact, to play and to have fun.

Feeding Difficulties - Individuals who have a restricted diet or restricted oral intake. Read more about feeding difficulties in our food play blog posts.

Multi-Sensory Teaching and Sensorimotor Activities - Opportunities that provide pupils with the opportunity to process information through more than one sense. Activities and teaching that incorporates visual, tactile, auditory, gustatory, olfactory, proprioception and vestibular experiences.

Play - A spontaneous, joyful activity through which a child experiences, experiments and orientates themselves to the world. By playing, a child learns about themselves and the world around them. Read more about planning for play in our planning blogs.

Playful Interaction Partners - The role of an educator in supporting pupils to learn and develop through play.

Sensory Integration - The neurological process of effectively and efficiently receiving, perceiving and interpreting sensory information from our environment and from our body to regulate our emotions and our arousal, to listen and attend, to communicate, to actively participate, to carry out movement and to learn new skills. The theory was developed by Jean Ayres.

Total Communication - is a term adopted in special education which refers to a combination of Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC) approaches that facilitate the exchange of information between educators and their pupils. Read about setting up a total communication environment in our blog.

If you are enjoying our content, The Springboard Curriculum is available to buy here as an immediate digital download. You can follow the link to view sample pages before you buy. The reason we decided to share our work? To allow educators to use their time creatively to maximise play and tailor the learning activities to the strengths and challenges of each pupil.

£1 of every sale goes to the school’s charity to give back to the educators and pupils who inspired the curriculum.