Which Version of the Sensory Curriculum Is Right for Your Setting?

The Development Matters version of the Sensory Curriculum are editable, allowing you to add the learning and assessment statements used within your setting. This gives you the flexibility to tailor the curriculum to your learners while keeping it aligned with your school’s existing approach. In this case please select this "Development Matters" version at checkout to allow you to edit to suit your needs.

Below, we explain our four pre-created versions to help you choose the most suitable starting point.

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Choosing a curriculum means thinking about what your learners need, how your team plans and how you recognise progress.

The Sensory Curriculum is available in four versions: SENtrack, Development Matters, Early Learning Goals and B Squared. The best choice depends on the learning statements and assessment approach you want to use alongside your sensory learning activities.

You might be looking for smaller steps of progress for SEND learners, planning linked to EYFS guidance, or a version that connects with your existing assessment software. Here is how to choose.

The Four Versions at a Glance

Version	Most suitable if…	Key feature
SENtrack	You want detailed, smaller-step learning and assessment statements developed for SEND learners.	Nine levels connecting curriculum objectives, observations and progress.
Development Matters	Your setting uses Development Matters to support its EYFS curriculum planning (or equivalent).	Planning linked to broad developmental stages, with an additional split within birth to three years.
Early Learning Goals (ELGs)	You want to use the Sensory Curriculum to support assessment of the end-of-Reception (EYFS) goals.	Links to the 17 ELGs across the seven EYFS areas of learning.
B Squared	You subscribe to Connecting Steps and want to connect your curriculum planning with assessment in that system.	Sensory Curriculum statements available within the Sensory Curriculum framework in Connecting Steps, once arranged with B Squared.

1. SENtrack: Smaller Steps That Help Make Progress Visible

SENtrack is our own learning and assessment framework at Sensory Classroom Ltd.

For many SEND learners, progress can be subtle. A change in how someone explores a resource, anticipates an activity or communicates a preference can represent meaningful learning. Broad developmental statements do not always give supporting adults enough detail to recognise these changes or identify an appropriate next step.

SENtrack provides nine levels of statements, spanning developmental stages broadly equivalent to birth to around five years:

-Levels 1–6 draw on the Engagement Model, with additional statements developed for SEND learners working within earlier developmental stages.

-Levels 7–9 draw on EYFS learning, with smaller-step statements developed to support suitable learning opportunities for SEND pupils.

SENtrack is a Sensory Classroom framework informed by these foundations. It is not a government assessment framework or a replacement for any statutory assessment requirements.

How does it work within the curriculum?

The learning objectives in this version of the Sensory Curriculum are SENtrack statements. This allows you to connect your planning, the learning you observe and the progress you record.

Learners might demonstrate their understanding through movement, facial expressions, vocalisations, gestures, AAC or other individual ways of communicating.

Subscribers can currently record progress using:

-Assessment grids within the short-term planning.

-Excel assessment spreadsheets.

-Assessment flowers, with petals coloured in as statements are achieved.

Choose SENtrack if you want a detailed SEND-specific framework that helps your team recognise smaller steps and plan what comes next.

What about digital assessment?

Our Curriculum Suite and SENtrack apps for Apple and Android are currently in development, with launch planned by July 2027.

Planned features include digital progress tracking, photograph and video evidence, observation notes, parent and carer sharing, and the option to add your own statements, including individual EHCP or IEP outcomes.

Once released, Sensory Curriculum subscribers will receive access to the suite and apps at no extra cost. In the meantime, the manual assessment resources are available to use.

See example of Short Term Planning: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qUfCkAsCqUnHV0sIXXWlvgNCz1R49SmQ/view?usp=drive_link

2. Development Matters: Planning Linked to EYFS Guidance

Development Matters is the Department for Education’s non-statutory guidance supporting the EYFS in England.

It helps practitioners consider how children develop and learn across the seven EYFS areas. It supports curriculum planning and professional judgement, rather than providing a rigid assessment checklist.

Our Development Matters version organises planning around:

-Birth to six months (& PMLD)

-Six months to three years

-Three to four years

-Reception Five to Six years

The split within the birth-to-three band is our Sensory Classroom adaptation, introduced to provide more focused planning guidance for learners with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD). The original Development Matters guidance uses a single birth-to-three band.

Choose Development Matters if your setting already uses this guidance and wants sensory curriculum planning linked to its developmental stages.

It may also suit teams that prefer broader developmental guidance when planning, while using their professional knowledge to identify each learner’s individual priorities.

See example of Short Term Planning: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1H9EX5RkWZyUX61xsH8sksIWbToc4pKIv/view?usp=drive_link

3. Early Learning Goals: Connecting Learning with the End-of-Reception Goals

The Early Learning Goals are the 17 goals used for statutory EYFS Profile assessment at the end of Reception in England.

They cover the seven EYFS areas of learning:

-Communication and Language.

-Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

-Physical Development.

-Literacy.

-Mathematics.

-Understanding the World.

-Expressive Arts and Design.

This version helps you identify how sensory learning opportunities connect with those goals.

Choose the ELG version if you need to make links between sensory learning and the expected outcomes assessed at the end of Reception.

There is an important distinction here: ELGs are assessment endpoints, rather than a complete curriculum or a sequence of smaller developmental steps. Your wider curriculum should remain broad and responsive to learners’ needs and interests.

If your learners need earlier learning opportunities or more detailed steps towards these outcomes, consider the Development Matters or SENtrack version.

4. B Squared: Connecting Planning with Your Existing Assessment System

This version is for B Squared subscribers only.

If your setting uses Connecting Steps, you can arrange with the B Squared team to access the Sensory Curriculum statements within the Sensory Curriculum framework in their programme.

This makes it easier to cross-reference curriculum planning with assessment and identify the statements relevant to your pupils within the system.

See an example of the Short Term Planning here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dNFaO6P3dPYp8WlRzDDdaB-HKM4RW8sT/view?usp=drive_link

Choose the B Squared version if your setting already subscribes to Connecting Steps and wants to use the Sensory Curriculum alongside that assessment workflow.

You will need to notify the B Squared team so they can help you get set up. Access should be arranged directly with them.

Book a consultation with the B Squared team here.

Should I Choose Based on My Pupils’ Ages?

Start with your learners’ needs, current learning and your setting’s assessment approach.

Developmental references can help adults select suitable learning opportunities, but they do not describe the whole learner. A pupil may demonstrate different skills across communication, physical development, cognition and other areas.

An older pupil accessing early developmental learning still needs experiences, resources and interactions that respect their chronological age, interests and autonomy.

Still Unsure Which Version to Choose?

Consider these three questions:

-Which learning or assessment framework does our setting already use?

-Do our learners need broad developmental guidance or more detailed, smaller steps?

-How do we want staff to record and review progress?

For detailed SEND-specific progression, explore SENtrack. For planning linked to broader EYFS developmental guidance, consider Development Matters. For links to end-of-Reception assessment goals, look at the ELG version. If you use Connecting Steps, speak to B Squared about setting up the relevant framework.

Explore the Sensory Curriculum and FREE course for more information here