Baby Sensory

Baby Sensory at Parklands Community Centre is run by Natasha Lovelock as part of the Baby Sensory Cheltenham and Cirencester franchise. Classes welcome babies from birth to 13 months and take place on Wednesdays — with slots at 10:00–11:00, 11:30–12:30, and 13:00–14:00 — and on Thursdays at 09:30–10:30 and 11:00–12:00. There is also a Thursday 12:30–13:30 session reserved for ages from birth to 13 months. All sessions run term time only, ample parking is available at the venue, and all materials are provided.

Each session follows a detailed lesson plan that takes your baby through a sequence of sensory experiences: light play, textures, scents, tummy time, movement, and massage — all introduced in ways you can replicate at home. A signature song opens every class. Original and traditional songs and rhymes run through the session alongside sensory signing, which gives parents and babies a shared way to communicate from very early on. The sensory area is arranged to match the distance at which babies see objects clearly, and instrument decibel levels are kept within safe limits. At the end of every session, womb sounds are used to soothe babies. Parents are welcome to feed or cuddle their baby at any point.

The programme was created by Dr Lin Day, who holds a senior associate membership of the Royal Society of Medicine and brings more than 40 years of practical experience working with parents and children. Dr Day designed and wrote all lesson plans and course training handbooks for Baby Sensory, drawing on a career that began in nursing in 1974 and extended through specialist training in special educational needs.