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Special educational needs and disabilities can affect a child's ability to learn, develop and grow - which can lead to problems later in life, as well as frustration and depression if not given the right support.
Some children may have SEN because of a medical condition or disability, other children may have SEN without a diagnosis or disability. Special educational needs schools (SEN schools) give children invaluable support, education and care which is designed to work with their way of learning, offer extra encouragement and support and set them on the best path possible for their future. Baby Brands Direct know how hard SEN staff and teachers work, that's why we've made it easy to order the best educational toys for your cohort of children. With a massive selection of toys with a host of developmental benefits, Baby Brands Direct is a one stop shop for your classroom inventory.
Children with special needs can benefit from playing with sensory toys. Children with conditions such as autism can have difficulty processing sensory information, resulting in a potential aversion and avoidance to the cause of sensory stimulation - such as loud noises, bright lights or strange textures. By introducing sensory play to a child’s day, education providers can slowly introduce sensory elements to children without them being too overwhelming. Infantino has a varied range of sensory toys that allow children to explore different shapes and textures during play, as well as introducing them to light and sound in a way that isn't too overwhelming.
The Infantino Lights & Sounds Multi Sensory and Multi Textured Balls Sets are great for small classes as they include multiple balls with unique textures, allowing kids to explore them with their hands and play together as a group. Lalaboom's sets of construction beads can also help stimulate kids' senses with their unique shapes inspired by nature. They fit together in a number of ways and the clicks as each bead fits together creates satisfying sensory stimulation to children's ears. Other sensory items available at Baby Brands Direct are comfort soothers which use audio and light to soothe and comfort little ones. Comfort soothers like the Tommee Tippee Light and Sound Sleep Aid come in cute cuddly animal designs, so they're perfect for kids to hug and cuddle as well as for nap time.
Musical toys are a great way of bringing fun and sensory elements to play. Products with a musical element, such as Halilit’s Giant Rainbomaker, are perfect for developing auditory skills. This particular musical toy creates a soothing rain-like sound that children won’t find too overly stimulating and the need to manipulate the toy in order to make the sound helps to build fine motor skills as well as teach cause and effect. The Infantino Baby's 1st Teethe & Play Music Set combines bright coloured musical toys with teething textures, which are perfect for young children going through the painful period of teething and to naturally support the instinct to explore with mouths and gums.
Memory games or games that help children to understand emotions are also great for SEN schools, as children with special needs can find it sometimes difficult to express their emotions and feelings effectively and may struggle with memory issues and cognitive dysfunction. French brand, Janod, have a great selection of puzzles and games that are designed to introduce the concept of emotions to children - as well as jigsaws and learning games that can help improve cognitive skills. Toys like the Janod WWF Koala Stacker And Rocker are perfect for teaching essential skills like problem solving, as well as teamwork and reasoning. Children can also develop their fine motor skills by manipulating the blocks into place. Construction toys are also perfect for this, with building blocks like those from Mega Bloks allowing children to unleash their creativity while developing key skills that will benefit them later in life.
Activity tables and centres like the VTech Play & Learn Activity Table allow multiple children to play together, helping improve communication, social and emotional skills. By allowing children to interact during play, they can improve their vocabulary and also gain empathy and understanding of others. Such activity toys help to teach topics covered by the school's curriculum in a fun and engaging way, helping to boost knowledge in a less intensive way than being stuck at the school desk.
With over 2500 items under one roof, Baby Brands Direct offer everything SEN staff and teachers need to make their classroom experience engaging and fun for children with special educational needs. We dispatch high quality branded products direct from our on-site warehouse, so orders are able to be delivered quickly and efficiently. With multi-buy discounts and no minimum order value, teachers and staff can order as much or as little as needed to cover the requirements of their class.
Why are children’s books such good sellers?
Sharing books together is a wonderful parent-child interaction. Usually a calm activity, it allows for quality time spent together, focusing on the book, on language and communication and on each other. Few activities offer such a focused bonding experience, especially for parents who are not at home to be involved in mealtimes or other playtimes. The relatively low price point makes books for babies and small children great impulse buys and worthy gift ideas, so there are plenty of opportunities to sell on.
According to the Book Trust, it’s never too early to start sharing books with babies – three to four months is about right, according to the charity’s research. And because reading a story is part of many bedtime routines – and pretty much every parent is aiming for a calm, stress-free bedtime – books for little ones are always going to be in demand.
Babies under a year old may not be able to follow a story, but from around three months they will want to explore a book with their hands, and will enjoy listening to a parent read, as they change their voice or repeat certain phrases or words. So, books that offer sensory feedback are great for this age – our fabric books are a wonderful introduction to the world of reading. Little ones can enjoy turning the pages, enjoying the pictures and learning to appreciate how it feels to hold a book in your hands – an experience that can last a lifetime if a love of reading is introduced at an early age.
The importance of literacy skills
And why is it so important to instil a love of reading and encourage literacy skills? Well, research has shown that if children lack the necessary literacy skills it can hold them back at every stage of life. They will find it hard to succeed at school, they will be at a disadvantage when they look for a job and will be unable to support their own child’s learning when they become a parent. According to the Literacy Trust, children born into communities with serious literacy challenges even have a lower life expectancy. As well as impacting their employability, (32% of employers are dissatisfied with young people's literacy levels and 15% have been offering remedial literacy training to their new staff) people need to read well to get by in everyday life, from reading instructions on medicines, scrolling through the internet, reading a newspaper or deciphering a bus timetable.
Take advantage of technology
While books may be seem an antidote to screen time, there’s no reason why technology can’t be used to encourage children’s literacy development. The VTech series of electronic learning books make books fun for little hands, with chunky pages to turn, buttons to press, and lights and sounds to stimulate the brain. The repetition of words, phrases and songs appeals to younger children, and will encourage little ones to move on to the next stage of the learning process.
The Leapfrog series of electronic books take reading a step further, introducing more vocabulary, and can be used in conjunction with the LeapStar system, which can help children with their reading from the ages to two to seven. There are more than 25 books to collect – so families will never be short of a present idea, and retailers have plenty of opportunities for repeat sales.
The Literacy Trust Says
Book reading helps children learn language when they engage in responsive interactions about word meanings. This is best learnt in a positive and socially engaging context. There is also value in both repetition and variability. It seems that repetition is particularly important for younger children, who benefit from hearing the same word often and in different contexts. Parents should also be aware that children focus on different components of a book at different ages. Infants start with extracting pictures from the visual scenes, then learning new words, but progress to learning more about the stories, characters and routines in books by the preschool years. They may be able to extract different information over multiple readings of the same book. However, the interactive component may help to introduce variability in the language that parents use, ensuring that it is targeted at the child’s level.
