A Sensory Toy Library case study

It may sound like a cliché, but, school budgets are tight and every little really does help. So, having a specialist sensory toy library to borrow from can make a huge difference to schools and to children with additional needs.

For special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs) like Claire, being able to borrow specialist toys from Ormiston Families’ Sensory Toy Library is hugely beneficial. It means she can select specialist toys to suit the developmental level and needs of the children she is working with. Once they have made progress, or lost interest, she can ‘move up’ and select new toys to help them continue to progress.

Even if the children have not progressed, they can get bored, or attached in a less than healthy way, to toys they play with day after day. Switching, with the possibility of coming back to try again, helps to keep them on the right track, and to build resilience.


“I book new toys, according to the needs of the children I am working with, once a month. I pick them up and return the previous month’s loans. Being able to offer children variety at no cost to the school, is great. The children I work with love the variety and I am able to plan progress into their days.”
Claire, SENCO, Cambridgeshire


Ormiston Families’ Sensory Toy Library is part of our Care and Share Group. This is a free service for families with children with additional needs. So, as well SENCOs and other child development professionals, families can borrow the toys we loan. With over 400 to choose from, all catalogued according to the skills and senses they develop, there is something for everyone, no matter their specific need or level.