The Just Right State Programme 2026
Title
The Just Right State Children’s Programme and Parents Programme
Dates
Part One – Monday 9th November to Tuesday 10th November 2026
Part Two – Monday 16th November to Tuesday 17th November 2026
Location
This is an ONLINE event, hosted with video conferencing and remote delegate attendance.
Cost
Course entry for this event is priced at £1,170 inclusive of VAT
Max delegates
Delegate numbers are limited for this event, to allow for all delegates to receive maximum engagement from the trainer. 16 positions are available for this course.
Trainer
Nick Smith is a Specialist Occupational Therapist, based in Yorkshire. He is the Co-Director of an Independent Therapy Service, Juniper Tree Therapy, predominantly using Sensory Integration and Sensory Attachment Intervention (SAI) approaches. He is a Level Two Trained Sensory Attachment Intervention Therapist, and member of the SAI Training and Education Board. Nick has a keen interest in physical activity, health and wellbeing, which has been a central component throughout his professional career. He completed an undergraduate degree in Physical Education before working as a Therapy Assistant, primarily using a Sensory
Integration approach. This involved working with children and young people with a range of neurodevelopmental difficulties including Autism, ‘ADHD,’ Learning Disability and Developmental Coordination Disorder/Dyspraxia. During this time Nick completed his MSc
Occupational Therapy degree qualifying as an Occupational Therapist, going on to complete Post Graduate training in Sensory Integration. Nick is SIPT certified and an Advanced Sensory Integration Practitioner.
Description of course
This four-day course will train Professionals in the use of The Just Right State Children’s Programme and Parents Programme.
The Just Right State Children’s Programme (PART ONE)
The Just Right State programme looks at the use of sensory activities and foods, to help children learn how to self regulate their emotional states and behaviour. It also uses cartoon characters called ‘The Scared Gang’ which represents the different survival and attachment patterns of behaviour. The different characters tell the children how they react to situations and what each of them does to achieve the “just-right state”. The goal of the programme is to enable children become more emotionally aware of themselves and of others, to give them simple tools to enable them to self regulate and achieve the just right state, whether it is to engage in academic learning, interacting with their peers, or to be able to get a good night’s sleep. Children are seen in groups of four to six for one hour fifteen minutes once a week.
The Just Right State Parent’s Programme (PART TWO)
Parents learn how to regulate their child from sensory and attachment perspectives. The aim of the programme is to enhance parents’ awareness of their own engagement patterns and how this impacts on their child’s emotional states. It also addresses the underlying reasons for behaviours. Parents first complete a sensory-attachment profile questionnaire that looks at the survival, sensory, and attachment behaviours of their child. They learn about; the different levels of self- regulation (physiological, sensory, emotional, and cognitive); the regulating effects of food and activities; and how to create an enriched environment that is tailor made both for them and their child’s sensory-attachment needs.
Parents of the children attending the JRS programme meet together for two hours once a week for six weeks. It runs in parallel to their children’s programme.
The children’s facilitators also lead the parents’ programme.
This course consists of two parts, with this being part one, you must complete both Part One and Part Two to receive your certification, it is split into 2 parts due to the course being online, to help ease the fatigue with online learning.
Who should attend
This course is open to all Therapists and Practitioners.
Pre-requisite
Participants must have either completed the Foundation Modules (Part One and Two) or SAI Adolescent and Adult Course.
Additional Info
Please note that this course has an equipment list, containing items that are required in order to complete the course.
Please review the equipment list here.
Attendance certificates will be issued by the SAI Centre.