In many early years and primary settings, supporting children with additional needs to engage in group activities can be a significant challenge.

  • Some children may find it difficult to join shared experiences.
  • Others may struggle with communication, attention or confidence within a group.

For practitioners, creating opportunities that are inclusive, meaningful and manageable within the day is essential.

At New Moston Primary School, within a SEN hub, this was the starting point.

Working with a small mixed-age group of four children, practitioners were supporting a range of additional needs, with varying levels of communication, engagement and confidence.

Before introducing Little Magic Train, “children struggled to engage in group activities and often required 1:1 support to participate.”

Like many settings, the team were looking for an approach that could bring children together, while still supporting individual needs in a calm, structured and accessible way.

That’s where Little Magic Train became part of their practice.

 

From the outset, a clear shift in engagement and participation was evident.

Children who had previously found it difficult to engage began to show curiosity – watching, listening and gradually joining in. What started as small moments of participation developed into more consistent engagement within the group.

Over time, this became something much more significant.

Children moved from non-participation to active group engagement.

From limited communication to spontaneous use of language.

From relying on adult support to increasing independence within the group.

These changes didn’t happen through pressure, but through a shared experience that felt safe, structured and predictable, something particularly important for children within a SEN hub.

 

The structure of Little Magic Train played a key role in this.

During the sessions, practitioners observed high levels of engagement in both movement and storytelling. Children began to take part more confidently in the activities, joining in with the movements and becoming immersed in the shared experience. Beyond the sessions themselves, the impact began to carry into other areas of learning.

Practitioners began to notice “the engagement in the movements and children role-playing Little Magic Train throughout other lessons and then using the vocabulary in lessons.”

Practitioners reported clear improvements in engagement, communication and attention.

Children showed increased focus during sessions, with all children demonstrating progress in their ability to sustain attention and take part in shared activities. Practitioners shared that “children really improved in engagement and communication. All of the children have really developed in attention during sessions.”

One child’s journey clearly demonstrates the impact of this approach.

At the start of the sessions, “one of our children joined in for 5 seconds, then didn’t want to join in. Took lots of encouragement and 1:1 adult support.”

Over time, this changed. “Now he asks for Little Magic Train and sits with his train arms ready and can confidently join in independently for the whole session.”

This reflects not only increased engagement but growing confidence, independence, and readiness to participate within a group.

 

Whole-Setting Impact

  • Increased group engagement without reliance on 1:1 support
  • Improved attention and sustained participation
  • Development of communication through repeated shared language
  • Transfer of learning into other lessons through role play and vocabulary use

 

This approach enables practitioners to:

  • Support children with SEND within a shared group experience
  • Reduce reliance on individual adult support
  • Create consistent opportunities for communication development
  • Embed learning across the wider curriculum

This makes it both effective and sustainable within a real school environment.

 

Practitioner reflection “Little Magic Train is really engaging for all our learners. They gain so much in terms of social interaction, engagement, attention and communication during these sessions. With Gina’s support, we are then able to take these sessions into other areas of learning to further develop their communication.”

At New Moston Primary School, this meant more children joining in, communicating with confidence, and participating independently, within a supportive and inclusive environment.

 

For settings accessing EYPP funding, this kind of impact is particularly significant.

  • Little Magic Train supports measurable progress in communication, engagement and participation.
  • It enables inclusive practice, aligns with Ofsted priorities around language and interaction, and provides a consistent, evidence-informed approach that can be embedded across the setting.
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