Baby Sensory

Baby Sensory at Charles Morris Hall runs every Wednesday, with two slots — 10:00 to 11:00 in the morning and 12:40 to 13:40 after lunch — which gives you a little flexibility depending on nap times. The franchise covering St Albans and Harpenden is run by Nic Owen, who took on Baby Sensory in 2021 after leaving a career in the city. Classes run Tuesday to Thursday across St Albans and on Mondays in Harpenden.

Each term follows a different theme. Spring programmes have covered English Country Garden, Baby Pirates, Sensations, and Rainbows, so the sensory environment shifts each block rather than repeating the same set of activities week after week.

Every session is built around a detailed lesson plan that works through what your baby touches, sees, hears, smells, and feels. You can expect creative play, tummy time, movement, texture exploration, and scent work alongside baby massage and sensory signing — activities chosen so you can repeat them at home between classes. The room itself is arranged to match the distance at which a young baby sees clearly, and the instruments used have been measured to ensure they are not too loud for newborn ears. Each session opens with the programme's signature song, 'Say Hello to the Sun', and closes with a calming wind-down that gently mimics the sounds of the womb.

Baby Sensory was designed as a parenting programme as much as a baby class. The goal is that parents leave each session with practical knowledge and ideas — not just a pleasant hour out — so that the learning continues at home. Research studies conducted in Baby Sensory classes in association with the University of Manchester (2013) and the University of Leeds (2014) examined the programme's positive effect on baby development, parent–baby bonding, and parent wellbeing.