Support attention with sensory circuits
Sensory circuits have evolved from sensory diets. The best way to imagine them is to think of a gym circuit, so a number of activities which are set out for children to complete. Instead of weights, you’re using sensory based activities chosen to support a child’s readiness to learn. It’s easy enough to integrate sensory circuits into a child’s day. However, it is important that you are choosing the right activities to match their arousal needs. This article will explore
Support attention with sensory circuits
Sensory circuits have evolved from sensory diets. The best way to imagine them is to think of a gym circuit, so a number of activities which are set out for children to complete. Instead of weights, you’re using sensory based activities chosen to support a child’s readiness to learn. It’s easy enough to integrate sensory circuits into a child’s day. However, it is important that you are choosing the right activities to match their arousal needs. This article will explore
The goal of sensory circuits
The goal of a sensory circuit should be to help organise children’s arousal level and prepare them for learning. Usually they are most helpful for sensory seekers and pupils who are slower to process sensory information. You can read more about the different sensory processing patterns here. My training Sensory Aware with GriffinOT, which is included within the membership, also includes more information.
What does a sensory circuit look like?
The circuit will typically include different activity or movement stations. Imagine a gym circuit with exercises set up to complete, but with a different goal. Instead of focussing on the cardiovascular system and building muscles, the focus is getting ready to learn and attend.
Usually a sensory circuit includes movement. There might be faster movement to help children who need to become more alert. There could be heavy work activities to support children to get organised. Typically, there are different stations of activities which children move around to during the session.
An example sensory circuit
Jane, as teaching assistant, has set up a circuit in the PE hall for four students who need to increase their arousal. These students spend at least a half an hour on the bus to get to school and typically arrive sluggish and tired. Along the sides the hall, she has set up:
- Star jumps
- A balance beam
- A slalom run
- Walking on stilts
The students have 2 minutes on each activity and then they move to the next one. She finishes with a GriffinOT or Go Noodle movement video as there is a screen in the hall. The circuit takes about 15 minutes and is timetabled in for these students every morning before lessons.
Liam’s organising sensory circuit
Liam is a movement seeker. He finds it tricky to stay still when seated on the carpet in the morning. To help, his teaching assistant uses a sensory circuit to help him to get organised. She uses the PE hall and sets up a structured routine of four exercises which Liam has to complete three times. There is a visual plan to help Liam remember the activities and the order. He has to count his movements when running or jumping. She also includes a lot of crawling at the end for proprioceptive input; Liam loves crawling through the tunnel. The activities have been chosen to meet his specific sensory needs.
Setting up your own sensory circuit
Before setting up your circuit you need to consider the following questions as they will help with your planning. Kim explores these further in her sensory aware training in the sensory circuit section.
Sensory circuits can be a great way to support a child’s arousal to allow them to participate at school. However, must individualise them to match each child’s arousal needs. There is no one size fits all, the activities should be tailored for each child.
Supporting arousal and regulation
Sensory activities can be used to change arousal and to support regulation. Typically, movement helps to increase arousal. Breathing, yoga or heavy work can help to reduce arousal. However as each child is different, they will need access to different activities.
Before creating a sensory circuit, you need to know how you want the child’s arousal to change. Does the child need to increase or decrease their arousal? Or, do they need to be more organised? It is important to know the needs of each individual child.
If you have multiple children in your group, you may need to give them individual plans within the circuit. Children who need to get organised typically need more structure, so they might have to count their movements. Those with low arousal might need to do faster movement for longer. If the child needs to calm down, they might avoid the faster movements.
Overall, the goal of the sensory circuit is that the pupil will be more ready to attend and focus on their lesson. Your job to tailor the circuits so that they achieve this goal.
Benefits of sensory circuits
You can use sensory circuits with a number of children at the same time, making them a helpful tool for schools. They can provide structure to the morning or during other transition periods, and children find them quite fun! Children can use sensory circuits as a tool to regulate and become organised for learning.
These benefits only occur if you are individualising the circuit activities to meet each child’s needs. It is also important that you monitor the impact of the circuit. There should be an improvement in the child’s capacity to access learning when the return to the classroom. If there is no change, then sensory needs are probably not the reason the child can’t access their learning. The reality is that it’s really complex and whilst a sensory circuit can help some children, it is not a magical solution! Kim explores this complexity in her training and you can ask Kim questions in the membership clinics.
Issues with using sensory circuits
As I have already said, the primary issue with using sensory circuits is that there is no one size fits all. This means that you need to tailor them to each individual. Often, you can use the same activities, but children will need to complete them differently. It’s important to consider the needs of all children in the group. Staff using sensory circuits report that they see positive changes for their children, however there is currently little research evidence to support their use.
A second issue I see, is that staff have not received any training to support their understanding of the senses and how to use sensory circuits effectively. This is easy to resolve with my online sensory aware training! The training explores precautions and safety and gives examples of how you can meet individual needs within a group.
Further information
Jan Horwood has written a book called ‘Sensory Circuits’. This book is popular, but it doesn’t give a lot of information or new activity ideas if you already have some knowledge. In my opinion the structure of alerting, organising and calming does not work for every child. Depending on their arousal needs, different children need a different combination of sensory activities to prepare them for learning. Please consider this when you are setting up your circuit.
My book Success with Sensory Supports explores arousal needs in further depth. There is a checklist to help you to evaluate children’s sensory needs, this can be used to help identify whether alerting, organising or calming activities may be best for them. It also provides clear instructions on how to complete different activities, including safety considerations.
Other articles on the GriffinOT website which include activities that can be incorporated into a sensory circuit:
- Sensory movement breaks tips for success
- The Mystery of Heavy Work
- Sensory Diet Cards and Movement Breaks – Free!
Twinkl has a huge number of movement, balance, beanbag, animal walk and yoga cards which you can use for visual prompts. You can also make your own visual schedules using pictures of equipment that you have in your school.
Date last updated by Kim: 23rd February 2025
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