SensoryPie founder & Specialist Occupational Therapist
Hi, I’m Sadie — a Specialist Sensory Occupational Therapist with over 10 years’ experience supporting care-experienced and neurodivergent children across education, CAMHS, Virtual Schools, and therapeutic care settings.
Throughout my career, I’ve worked closely with children and young people who have faced significant adversity. Far too often, I’ve seen these children mislabelled as ‘challenging’ or ‘not ready’ - often left waiting for therapy they can’t yet access, because the systems around them are still focused on behaviour rather than needs.
But we know that many of our children, despite being physically safe, continue to navigate ongoing trauma - school moves, home moves, family contact, fractured attachments - all while trying to survive in environments that often feel threatening to their nervous systems.
What’s missing is the foundation: a sense of body-based safety. That’s where sensory-informed practice can be transformational.
My work is rooted in the belief that sensory regulation and co-regulating relationships are not just helpful - they’re essential. They form the base of the pyramid on which any deeper therapeutic work can eventually stand.
I now specialise in working with Virtual Schools, fostering agencies, and residential providers, helping professionals understand the sensory-trauma connection and how to create learning and home environments where children feel safe enough to engage, relate, and learn.
If you support children who often get overlooked or misunderstood - the ones constantly ‘referred on’ but rarely seen - I can help you put the right foundations in place.
Because when we stop waiting for children to be ready, and instead meet them where they are, everything changes.
At SensoryPie, my vision is to make trauma-informed, sensory-aware practice the foundation — not the afterthought — of how we support care-experienced and neurodivergent children.
Too often, these children are labelled ‘too dysregulated’ for therapy or learning — when in reality, they’re surviving a relentless state of stress: navigating school and placement moves, managing family contact, and living with fractured attachments, all within environments that often feel overwhelming and unsafe to their nervous systems.
Understanding a child’s sensory world is the first step to building body-based safety, trust, and connection. When we meet sensory needs first, we’re not just helping children feel calmer — we’re creating the conditions for them to learn, relate, and begin to heal.
Let’s face it: a lot of CPD is long, expensive, theory-heavy, and often inaccessible to the staff who need it most.
That’s why SensoryPie delivers engaging, bite-sized sessions that:
Fit within 60 minutes
Are full of practical, sensory-informed strategies
Keep staff energised and involved
Can be watched live or on replay — no cover required
My training is designed to build confidence and shift practice immediately — whether you're in a classroom, residential setting, or a foster carer.
This isn’t about box-ticking CPD — it’s about real tools for real teams, making a real difference.
SensoryPie support isn’t a therapy — it’s a culture shift.
When schools, homes and services embed a whole-system sensory approach:
Staff feel more confident and less overwhelmed
Children feel safer, better understood, and more connected
Exclusions, part-time timetables, placement breakdowns, and disengagement are reduced
Everyone benefits — because inclusive, sensory-aware environments support all children, not just those with the highest needs.
Self care isn’t just baths and breathing exercises. For many of our children (and adults), wellbeing begins with understanding what helps their nervous system feel calm, alert, and safe.
That might mean movement, pressure, chewing, music — or something else entirely.
At SensoryPie, I champion the idea that sensory regulation is the cornerstone of emotional wellbeing. When we help children (and the teams around them) tune in to what regulation really means, we create lasting change.
You’ve got questions. We've got answers.
I specialise in working with care-experienced and neurodivergent children, particularly those who’ve experienced developmental trauma, sensory processing differences, or difficulties with emotional regulation. I work across schools, Virtual Schools, fostering teams, residential care settings, and local authorities — supporting both individual children and whole systems.
Consultations are typically 1.5 hours and involve the key adults around the child — such as carers, teachers, key workers and Virtual School advisors. Together, we explore how the child responds to their environment, what might be contributing to stress or dysregulation, and identify practical, trauma-informed strategies to support their sensory needs.
Each consultation includes a detailed written report with recommendations, tailored to the setting(s) involved.
Prior to the consultation you will be sent a trauma-sensory checklist which both school and home are encouraged to complete, this is so bespoke recommendations and advice can be provided during the consultation.
Yes, absolutely — and it’s encouraged! I welcome involvement from the whole team around the child. This might include carers, school staff, residential key workers, social workers, and virtual school advisors. Everyone brings valuable insight, and the best outcomes happen when the adults supporting the child work together.
I offer live online training sessions and recorded CPD that are designed to be accessible, engaging and strategy-focused. They’re suitable for:
Teachers and teaching assistants
SENDCos and senior leaders
Residential care teams
Foster carers and social care staff
Virtual School Teams
Sessions are typically 60–90 minutes and are packed with practical tools, not just theory.
Most services are delivered online, which means they’re easy to access anywhere in the UK. I can usually offer consultations or training within 2–4 weeks, depending on demand. In person sessions may be possible for organisations within reach of South Yorkshire - please get in touch and we can discuss.
Whole-System Sensory Starter Package
🎯 Designed for Virtual Schools, fostering agencies, and residential care providers trialling trauma-informed sensory support for the first time.
What's Included:
✅ 2 x Live Online CPD Sessions (60 mins each, up to 300 attendees) with follow up slides, certificates and tools
✅ 2 x Child-Specific Sensory Consultations with written reports of recommendations
✅ Email support + optional follow-up review
Introductory Price: £3,500 per term (usual value: £4,750)
Book before October 31st to lock in this rate for the Autumn 2025 term.
One-off training or consultations are also available — all prices are inclusive of prep and follow-up, with no hidden costs. Let’s talk about what fits your needs.
Yes — I’m happy to tailor packages based on your priorities, staffing model, and budget. Whether you need training across multiple schools, support for your foster carers, or targeted work with children at risk of exclusion, I can create a bespoke offer to match.
Each consultation includes clear, child-centred recommendations that can be reviewed and built into existing ePEP support plans or EHCP processes. For training, I provide optional reflection tools and feedback forms. My work often leads to improved emotional regulation, reduced school-based anxiety, and better engagement — all of which can be tracked through outcomes.
Traditional sensory OT advice can sometimes take a one-size-fits-all approach — offering sensory diets and tools without fully considering how developmental trauma shapes a child’s sensory system. But for care-experienced children, sensory needs can’t be separated from their lived experiences of threat, loss, or instability.
That’s where my approach is different.
I bring together over a decade of therapeutic experience across the NSPCC, CAMHS, MHST, the NHS Sensory Pathway, and a Virtual School team, with deep insight into how trauma impacts regulation, relationships, and learning.
I don’t just deliver theory — I work in schools every week, and I’ve spent the last three years embedded in a Virtual School, so I understand the real pressures schools face and what’s actually achievable in practice.
I offer a unique blend of:
Trauma-informed, sensory-specific expertise
Extensive experience supporting care-experienced and neurodivergent children
First-hand knowledge of multi-agency systems and Virtual School priorities
My training and consultation are warm, relatable, and rooted in real-world strategy — giving staff tools they can use straight away to help children feel safer, calmer, and more connected.
Yes. I’m a registered Occupational Therapist with the HCPC, fully insured, and hold an enhanced DBS.
Absolutely. My consultations and reports are written in a clear, professional format and can contribute to EHCP reviews or provide evidence for additional support. I focus on linking sensory needs to educational access, which aligns with SEND Code of Practice requirements.
You can email me directly and I'll be happy to help