Special Needs Assistants — Building Balance, Connection and Growth

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Price

€175.00

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Welcome to our SNA Professional Development training — designed to give you the confidence, understanding and practical tools to thrive in your role.

As an SNA, you play a key role in creating a calm, supportive learning environment. But understanding the “why” behind a child’s behaviour can sometimes feel like guesswork. This training changes that.

Delivered by Anna and Suzanne — experienced primary school teachers, accredited play therapists and the team behind Connected Childhood — this course blends neuroscience, play therapy insights and real-world classroom experience to help you:

  • Understand how the nervous system works — including the window of tolerance, and what hyper and hypo arousal look like in the children you work with
  • Learn to co-regulate with children — using your breath, body and movement as the “ladder” between a child’s downstairs brain and their upstairs brain
  • See behaviour through a different lens — using the iceberg model, the four threats to the nervous system and growth mindset to understand what’s really going on
  • Explore the eight sensory systems — and how hyper- and hypo-sensitivity in smell, sight, touch, hearing, taste, vestibular, proprioception and interoception affect children in your classroom
  • Look after your own wellbeing — with guided mindfulness practices, reflective exercises and a reminder that the work you do makes a lasting difference

This course is warm, grounded and genuinely practical. It’s not about adding to your workload. It’s about giving you a clearer lens to see children through, and tools you can use in the classroom tomorrow.

What’s included:

  • A 3-part video presentation (approx. 2.5–3 hours total, with a break between Parts 2 and 3)
  • Guided mindfulness practices woven throughout
  • Reflective exercises for you and your team
  • SNA resource pack (sent by email on completion)
  • Certificate of completion
  • Evaluation form

Access:

Available until 30 June 2026. Watch at your own pace — on-demand, practical, ready when you are.

Course Content

Lesson 1 — The Nervous System: Your Window of Tolerance
Lesson 2 — Regulation, the Brain and Responding to Behaviour
Lesson 3 — Growth Mindset, the Sensory System and Your Wellbeing
Lesson 4 — Evaluation