Sensory Integration Education

Expanding Opportunities in Sensory Processing and Integration

Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) play a vital role across the NHS, social care and education, supporting individuals’ health, wellbeing, and participation in everyday life. This year, AHPs Day celebrates the theme of “The 3 Shifts: hospital to community; treatment to prevention; and analogue to digital”, highlighting the transformative work AHPs do in bridging settings, embracing preventative approaches, and integrating digital innovations into practice.

SIE’s Lifelong Learning Director Beth Smithson, Occupational Therapist and Advanced Sensory Integration Practitioner, said:

“At Sensory Integration Education (SIE), we’re proud to support AHPs in enhancing their practice through training in sensory processing and integration. Sensory integration is a framework that helps professionals understand how people perceive, respond to and interact with their environment. Whether you’re working in hospitals, schools, community settings or the home, applying sensory-informed approaches can help the people you support engage more fully in daily life.”

Opportunities for AHPs

SIE offers a range of courses tailored to different levels of experience and professional scope:

1. Sensory Inclusion Facilitator Certificate  

• Practical skills to recognise sensory processing differences and adapt environments and approaches.
    
• Certification as a Sensory Inclusion Facilitator and inclusion on the SIE Register.
    
• Accessible to all professionals working in health and social care
    
• Study online and access support from Advanced SI Practitioners via weekly drop-in sessions and a community forum
    
• School staff and professionals working with schools can access the Sensory Inclusion Facilitator for Education Certificate course. 

2. Short CPD Courses and Live Webinars

• Targeted sessions on a wide range of topics, including clinical reasoning, sensory assessment tools, interoception, mental health, and burnout prevention.
    
• Perfect for AHPs who want to explore SI theory and practice without committing to a longer programme.
    
• Available individually or via the Lifelong Learning Programme subscription.
   
   

3. Postgraduate University-Accredited Sensory Integration Practitioner Pathway (PGCert, PGDip, MSc)

• Postgraduate-level training for Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Physiotherapists, Art Therapists, Dramatherapists and Music Therapists  - and also Nurses, Social Workers and Practitioner Psychologists
    
• 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

Why Eligibility Matters

Sensory Integration is not a stand-alone therapy. It is integrated into broader professional practice, relying on practitioners’ knowledge of anatomy, physiology, psychology, child development, and therapeutic skills. This is why our postgraduate courses are open only to registered professionals with relevant clinical experience.

For example, while OTs, SLTs, and physiotherapists can progress through the full postgraduate SI pathway to achieve an MSc Advancing Practice in Sensory Integration, some AHPs can access the PGcert in SI and the PGDip in SI, and all can access our shorter courses, webinars, and the Sensory Inclusion Facilitator Certificate — all designed to enhance your practice safely and effectively.

Celebrating Your Expertise

AHPs Day 2025 is about celebrating the skills, dedication, and innovation AHPs bring to their communities. By expanding your knowledge in sensory processing and integration, you can:

• Enhance participation and independence for those you support.
    
• Apply a person-centred framework to improve daily living, learning, and wellbeing.
    
• Integrate sensory-informed approaches into community, school and healthcare settings.

Whether you’re just beginning to explore sensory processing and integration or ready to take your practice to a postgraduate level, SIE offers learning pathways to suit your role and experience.

Visit us this AHPs Day and discover how sensory-informed practice can empower the people you support — in hospitals, schools, community settings, and beyond.