TL;DR:

  • Sharing a simple sensory passport, a brief handover routine, and booking regular reviews significantly improve communication with parents about sensory needs.
  • Using observable language, quick scripts, and termly updates ensures staff can effectively support children, even during busy or staff turnover periods.

Three things will make the biggest difference right now: share a one-page sensory passport with every key person, agree a 30-second daily handover routine, and book a termly review meeting. That is it. Not a ten-page report. Not a formal assessment. Just three small habits that the SEND Code of Practice (2015) already requires settings to support, because parents must be treated as experts in their child’s needs at every stage.

The PINS programme identifies regular meetings as a core mechanism for improving parental confidence. Your immediate next steps:

  • Write one line per passport field tonight (likes, dislikes, one trigger, one calming strategy).
  • Agree a 30-second drop-off script with the key person this week.
  • Book the first termly review before the end of this half-term.

Table of Contents

What goes on a one-page sensory passport?

Picture this: you hand a single laminated sheet to the key person at drop-off. She reads it in 90 seconds and knows exactly what to do when your child starts humming and rocking. That is the whole point of a sensory passport. The Rotherham Sensory Toolkit (2024) recommends distilling sensory profiles into a short, regularly updated passport rather than a lengthy clinical report.

Field Example phrasing (plain English, observable)
What I love “Spinning tops, heavy blankets, cold water on my hands”
What upsets me “Loud hand dryers, crowded corridors, sudden changes to routine”
Early signs I’m struggling “Starts humming loudly, covers ears, goes very still”
What helps me calm “Five minutes in a quiet corner with a fidget toy or a weighted lap pad”
My sensory toolkit “Chewelry necklace, noise-reducing ear defenders, small squeeze ball”
Safe space in this setting “The book corner behind the blue curtain”
Who to contact “Mum: [number]. Dad: [number]. Ask Mum before calling anyone else.”
Daily pitfalls “Transitions between activities — always give a two-minute warning”

Keep the language observable. “Gets dysregulated” means nothing to a supply TA. “Starts flapping hands and moving away from the group” tells her exactly what to watch for.

Update cadence: review the passport after any significant change (new medication, house move, big sensory event). A minimum of once per term keeps it current. Keep one copy in the child’s key person folder, one in the setting’s SEND file, and one on your phone.

Pro Tip: Save the passport as a photo in your phone’s camera roll so you can re-share it in seconds when staff change. Staff turnover is one of the biggest causes of information loss in early years settings.

Day-to-day methods that actually work

Seven-thirty AM. Your child is already dysregulated from the car journey. The key person is managing four other arrivals. You have about 20 seconds.

That is the reality of a school-day handover. Long explanations do not survive it. What does survive is a short, agreed script. Something like: “Rough morning, ear defenders from the start please, she’s already at about a seven.” Done. The key person knows what to do.

Coral daily folder on table at school reception

Durham County Council’s SEND toolkit recommends the key person as the first point of contact for daily communication, meeting parents regularly and keeping a short running note at first concern.

Low-effort channels that work in busy settings:

  • Paper passport in the bag pocket — visible, no login required, survives a dead phone battery.
  • Secure messaging app (Class Dojo, Tapestry, or the setting’s approved platform) — good for end-of-day updates and photos.
  • A single shared Google Doc or paper log — one line per day, dated, kept in the child’s folder.
  • Short photos or videos of your child regulating at home — practitioners find these more useful than long clinical reports for understanding what “calm” actually looks like for your child.

Consent checklist before sending any image:

  1. Confirm the platform is GDPR-compliant and approved by the setting.
  2. Check who can view the image (key person only, or wider staff?).
  3. Agree how long images are stored and how they are deleted.
  4. Know the withdrawal method if you change your mind.

How to make termly review meetings actually useful

A parent I know left a termly meeting last year with a printed sheet of targets she did not understand and no idea who was doing what. Sound familiar? The meeting itself is not the problem. The agenda is.

The PINS interim evaluation found that regular, structured engagement between parents and school staff directly improves parental confidence and reduces isolation. Termly is the recommended minimum.

A lean agenda that works:

  1. Wins (5 minutes) — what has gone well since last time?
  2. What is not working (10 minutes) — honest, no blame.
  3. Three priorities for next term — no more than three.
  4. Who does what, by when — one named person per action.
  5. Next review date — agree it before you leave the room.

Who to invite: the parent or carer, the key person, the SENCO, and a health representative if one is involved (speech and language therapist, occupational therapist). Share notes at least two weeks before the meeting so parents can prepare questions. Local guidance recommends reviewing support every six to eight weeks, with a minimum of three parent contacts per year for monitoring progress.

After the meeting, record actions in a simple log: action, owner, deadline, done? Review it at the start of the next meeting.

How to write adjustments staff will actually use

A new teaching assistant sits down with a ten-page occupational therapy report on her first day. She reads three pages, panics, and puts it in a drawer. This happens constantly. The fix is not a better report. It is a one-page adjustment sheet written in if/then language.

Cumbria Council’s communications guidance is clear: use plain English and describe behaviour as observable actions, never diagnostic labels.

Instead of this Write this
“Child presents with sensory processing difficulties” “If the room gets noisy, offer ear defenders before she asks”
“Requires proprioceptive input” “Give her something heavy to carry between activities (a book bag, a tray)”
“Exhibits demand avoidance” “If she refuses, offer two choices rather than one instruction”
“Dysregulates during transitions” “Give a two-minute warning before every change of activity”

Red flags to escalate immediately: self-injury, complete shutdown lasting more than ten minutes, distress that does not respond to the usual calming strategies.

Implementation checklist for the key person:

  • Read the adjustment sheet before the child arrives on day one.
  • Walk through it with the SENCO in the first week.
  • Keep a copy on the key person’s desk, not in a filing cabinet.
  • Sign and date it so there is a record of who has been briefed.

Pro Tip: Ask the setting to keep a parent copy AND a digital copy. When a TA leaves mid-term, the parent copy becomes the handover document for the replacement.

You want to send a short video of your child using her weighted blanket at home. You hesitate. Is that allowed? Who sees it?

The SEND Code of Practice is explicit: parents are partners, and sharing information about a child’s needs is part of that partnership. Personal data, including photos and videos, must be handled under UK GDPR. Settings must have a clear consent process.

One-line consent checklist: confirm who receives the data, why it is needed, how long it is kept, and how you withdraw consent if you change your mind.

Safeguarding always overrides confidentiality. If a professional shares information without your consent because of a safeguarding concern, that is lawful and correct. If you are unsure about your rights or a setting’s data practices, SSENDIAS (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service) offers free, impartial advice to families in Sussex.

Barriers parents report and straightforward fixes

“I emailed the SENCO three weeks ago and still haven’t heard back.” That is one of the most common things I hear from parents in Brighton. Limited SENCO time is the single biggest barrier to communication, according to the PINS evaluation.

  • Barrier: SENCO unavailable. Fix: ask the setting to name a deputy key person who can respond within 48 hours.
  • Barrier: jargon in reports. Fix: ask for a plain-English summary of any IEP or sensory report. You are entitled to understand it.
  • Barrier: staff turnover. Fix: keep the passport on your phone and re-share it every time a new face appears.
  • Barrier: no feedback on daily progress. Fix: agree a one-line end-of-day update, even just a thumbs-up emoji on the approved platform.
  • Barrier: feeling dismissed at meetings. Fix: bring a written list of three specific observations from home. Concrete examples are harder to dismiss than general concerns.

Pro Tip: Ask the setting to display the passport in the key person’s daily folder, not just in the SEND file. Visibility across the whole staff team is what survives a supply day.

Local and national resources for Brighton, Hove and Sussex families

You ring SSENDIAS on a Tuesday morning, explain the situation in five minutes, and leave the call with three concrete next steps. That is what a good information service feels like.

Resource What they do How to reach them
SSENDIAS Sussex Free, impartial SEND advice for families and professionals Via West Sussex County Council website
PINS programme Whole-school neurodiversity inclusion; termly meeting guidance Via school SENCO or GOV.UK
WTT (Working Together Team) Transition tools, sensory environment checklists, communication audits Via school or early years setting referral
Brighton & Hove SEND Local Offer Local services, EHC plan guidance, early years support brighton-hove.gov.uk/SEND

For SEN parenting support in Sussex, local charity networks and parent carer forums also run peer support groups where you can share what works.

Key takeaways

A one-page sensory passport, a 30-second handover script, and a termly review meeting are the three changes that make the most practical difference to communication about a child’s sensory needs.

Point Details
Start with the passport One page, observable language, updated each term and saved on your phone.
Agree a handover routine A 30-second script at drop-off beats a long email nobody reads.
Book termly reviews PINS evidence shows structured termly meetings improve parental confidence.
Write adjustments in if/then language Plain, observable steps survive staff turnover; jargon does not.
Fidget and Spin sessions Weekly sensory sessions offer a low-stakes place to trial the passport and practise handovers with trained staff.

What I actually do, and what saved our sanity

I used to dread drop-offs. Not because Remy was difficult. Because I never knew whether the information I’d shared the week before had survived the weekend staff rota. I’d watch a new face appear at the door and feel that familiar sinking feeling: here we go again.

The thing that changed it was embarrassingly simple. I put the passport on my phone. Not in a folder. Not emailed to the office. On my camera roll, so I could hand it over in ten seconds. I also started using a two-sentence handover: one sentence about the morning, one sentence about what helps today. That is it. Staff actually remember two sentences.

Anthony and I also asked the setting to name a specific deputy for when the SENCO was unavailable. It took one conversation. It meant we always had someone to contact. I keep a small photo library on my phone too: Remy calm, Remy regulated, Remy in his happy place. Showing a key person what “fine” looks like for him is worth more than any clinical description.

None of this is perfect. There are still days when the communication breaks down, when a new TA hasn’t read the sheet, when I leave a meeting feeling like I spoke into a void. But the passport, the script, and the named deputy have reduced those days significantly. If you copy nothing else from this article, copy those three things.

Fidget and Spin: a low-stakes place to practise all of this

If you want somewhere to trial the passport before a high-stakes setting, our weekly sensory sessions at Fidget and Spin are exactly that. You hand the passport to a trained member of staff at the door. They read it. They use it. You watch what works and what needs tweaking, in a space built for neurodiverse children aged 1–6 with no judgment and no pressure.

Fidget and Spin

Our three sensory zones (Wiggle & Bounce for big movement, Snuggle & Chill for low-stim, Squish & Squeeze for tactile play) give you real data about your child’s preferences that you can take straight back to the passport. The sensory play benefits are well documented, but the practical bonus is this: you leave each session knowing something new about your child’s regulation that you can write down and share.

When you are ready for a bigger occasion, our SEN-friendly birthday parties in Brighton and Sussex follow the same model: you share the passport, we adapt the session. Session packages have set pricing; check availability and book directly on the website or contact to discuss needs… Check availability and book directly on the website, or drop us a message if you want to talk through what your child needs before you commit.

Useful sources and where to read more

These are the sources behind this article. Bring them to your next review meeting.

  • SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (DfE and DoH, 2015) — the legal framework for parental partnership, graduated approach, and review cadence. The starting point for any conversation with a setting about your rights.
  • Rotherham Sensory Toolkit, Version 1 (2024) — practical sensory passport templates and guidance on distilling profiles into short, usable formats. Download and adapt freely.
  • PINS interim evaluation report (GOV.UK) — evidence on termly meetings, parental confidence, and what schools are doing well (and not).
  • WTT early years to primary transition resources(https://www.wtt.org.uk/outreach-for-education/early-years-to-primary-transition) — sensory environment checklists and communication audits for transitions. Useful for Year R entry.
  • Durham County Council SEND toolkit — key person responsibilities and early years coordination guidance.
  • Sensory diet guide (Autism Victory) — practical ideas for daily sensory activities that complement the passport strategies above.

Professionals: link these in your setting’s SEND file and bring the relevant pages to termly reviews. Parents: screenshot the passport template and the if/then table. You do not need permission to use them.

FAQ

What should a sensory passport include?

A sensory passport covers likes, dislikes, early signs of distress, calming strategies, sensory toolkit items, safe spaces, daily pitfalls, and contact details. Keep every entry in plain, observable language so any member of staff can act on it immediately.

How often should we review a child’s sensory passport?

Review it at least once per term, or after any significant change such as a new medication, a house move, or a major sensory event. Local guidance recommends a minimum of three parent contacts per year for monitoring progress.

What is SSENDIAS and how can it help in Sussex?

SSENDIAS (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service) offers free, impartial advice to families and professionals in Sussex on SEND rights, processes, and local services. Contact them via the West Sussex County Council website.

How do Fidget and Spin sessions help with communication?

At Fidget and Spin weekly sessions, parents hand the sensory passport to trained staff at the door and observe how their child responds across three sensory zones. That real-world data feeds directly back into the passport and into conversations with the child’s early years setting.

What does the SEND Code of Practice say about parents?

The SEND Code of Practice (2015) requires settings to treat parents as experts and involve them at every stage of decisions about their child’s support, using a graduated assess, plan, do, review cycle…