Entry Criteria for PGCert and PGDip in Sensory Integration

(Modules A, B & C)

The PGCert and PgDip Sensory Integration courses are available to people holding an Honours degree and:

  • HCPC (or equivalent) registered professionals:
    • Occupational Therapists
    • Physiotherapists
    • Speech and Language Therapists
    • Practitioner Psychologists (including Clinical and Educational Psychologists)
    • Art Therapists, Dramatherapists, Music Therapists
  • NMC (or equivalent) registered Nurses
  • Social Workers (SWE registered or equivalent)


Context

Traditionally, Sensory Integration (SI) training has been closely associated with Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, and Speech and Language Therapists. However, we have widened our entry criteria to include other HCPC, NMC, SWE (or equivalent) registered professionals. This now encompasses Practitioner Psychologists, Arts Therapists, Nurses, and Social Workers, as these professions share core foundations that make them well-suited to study and apply SI in practice. 

Anyone undertaking SI training is, first and foremost, practising within their core profession, and SI approaches are integrated into, rather than separate from, their existing scope of practice. These are all regulated professions with training in anatomy, physiology, psychology, or child development. 

These practitioners are skilled in observing, assessing, analysing, and planning interventions tailored to individual needs, always considering the person in the context of their environment, relationships, and participation. With these shared competencies, they are well placed to integrate SI theory and techniques into their existing therapeutic frameworks.


How Do You Know Our Course is Right for You?

1. You Work with Individuals Who Could Benefit from a Sensory Integration Framework

 This course is not simply about learning sensory strategies; it’s about applying the Sensory Integration (SI) framework to support meaningful change in clients. 

Our training requires that you have access to individuals with whom you can assess, interpret, hypothesise, and plan individualised interventions. You’ll be expected to use clinical reasoning to tailor interventions to each client’s needs, rather than applying generic strategies.

A key focus of the course is sensory-motor practice. You should be ready to work hands-on with clients to improve motor planning, coordination, and participation in everyday activities.

2. You Can Apply ASI Principles in Practice

 The interventions you’ll learn are informed by Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI) principles, some of which include: 

  • Establishing a therapeutic alliance with the client
  • Tailoring activities to each individual’s sensory processing needs, incorporating the ‘just-right challenge’
  • Supporting the development of meaningful adaptive responses
  • Using a client-centred, evidence-informed approach

 While you don’t need access to a dedicated SI clinic, you should be able to deliver interventions in your current practice setting.

3. You Can Adapt Evidence to Your Client Group

Although the evidence base for SI comes largely from occupational therapy and pediatric populations, this course equips you to extrapolate principles to non-traditional settings and across the lifespan. We strive to make the training relevant for all professionals, but it’s useful to be aware of the focus of existing research.

4. You Are Ready for Masters-Level Study

This is a university-accredited, Masters-level course. You will submit assignments and accrue practice hours while applying theory to your own clinical work. Assignments involve approximately 4,000 words of written work, including critique and wider reading.

5. You Can Commit Time to Learning

The course is delivered asynchronously, with optional live sessions. You will need to plan your own time, committing at least half a day per week to complete course content, plus additional time for assignments and wider reading.


What will you be able to do on Completion of the PGCert in Sensory Integration?

On completing the PGCert in Sensory Integration, you will be able to:

  • Search for, appraise, and apply evolving evidence on sensory integration practice and neuroscience to inform clinical reasoning, critical thinking, and evidence-based practice. 
  •  Evaluate individuals’ sensory integration and processing abilities, synthesise assessment data, and recognise patterns to generate hypotheses. 
  •  Use evidence and clinical reasoning to make safe, participation-focused, person-centred decisions regarding assessment and intervention. 
  •  Support individuals and where appropriate, their families or carers, to understand their unique sensory processing abilities. 
  •  Understand Ayres Sensory Integration (ASI) and ASI® fidelity, and use clinical reasoning to guide intervention choices. 
  •  Work collaboratively with individuals to develop person-centred goals based on identified sensory needs. 
  •  Design, implement, adapt, and discontinue individualised SI-informed interventions as appropriate. 
  •  Select and use contextually appropriate outcome measures to evaluate the effects of SI interventions on sensory processing and participation.


What will you be able to do on Completion of the PGDip in Sensory Integration?

On completing the PGDip in Sensory Integration, you will have consolidated and progressed your core SI practitioner skills and will be able to:

  • Show a systematic understanding of ASI-related theory and underpinning knowledge, with critical awareness of current challenges and emerging insights in the field.
  • Demonstrate the ability to reflect both during and after assessment and intervention sessions, in order to deepen understanding and enhance planning and delivery within an SI approach.
  •  Integrate and reflect on the use of ASI and sensory-informed practice with wider theories and treatment approaches.


Why Is the Course Only Open to Certain Professionals? 

Sensory Integration (SI) is not a stand-alone therapy. It’s one of many approaches that health and social care professionals may use after fully assessing a person’s needs. To do this safely, practitioners need to understand the whole picture of someone’s health, development, and social circumstances.

Without this wider knowledge, there’s a risk of misunderstanding behaviours, raising false expectations, or even missing important information about a person’s wellbeing.

That’s why our course is only open to registered health and social care professionals. Their professional training gives them the background they need to use SI safely and effectively - adding to their skills and helping them support people in a truly person-centred way.