The Bridge - 2026 Birmingham

The Sensory Projects invites professionals and family members who support people described as having profound and multiple learning disabilities to The Bridge.

This event aims to be the link between the latest research and the heart of daily practice. We believe, unequivocally, that people described as having profound and multiple learning disabilities have the right to care and support informed by the most current understanding and evidence, just as much as anyone else does.

The day will be an adventure in the space between research and practice. We will hear from a diverse range of voices: researchers unearthing new understanding and sharing long established insight, experienced front-line practitioners showcasing innovative strategies and letting us learn from their hard earned wisdom, and parents and people with profound and multiple learning disabilities offering invaluable lived insights gleaned from their own journeys.

The event will be hosted by Dr Jo Grace. Speakers and Conversation Leaders details below. The day will begin with keynote presentations before moving into a workshop format to allow discussion, conversation and questions in an informal manner, all accompanied by delicious food and opportunities to learn and chat in other ways.

The Bridge offers a compassionate and collaborative space, a unique opportunity to gain actionable knowledge, refine your skills, and champion the best practices. Empower your practice with knowledge, empathy, and a shared vision for truly bespoke, accessible, and rights-affirming support for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Together we will build the bridge and ensure research informed practice is available to people described as having profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Keynote speakers:

Professor Melanie Nind. Research Interests: Intensive Interaction, Inclusivity and Belonging for (and with) people with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities.

Professor Melanie Nind is one of the originators of Intensive Interaction, an approach that developed from an unwillingness to adopt the status quo at the time and equal parts ambition and compassion for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Formerly a teacher in special schools and further education colleges, Mel is a quiet intellectual giant who has cut a career through academia with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities hugely important to her research. Her most recent work looks at how we include their voices in research and what it is for them to experience belonging.

Melanie Nind, Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, is Professor of Education at the University of Southampton. Melanie is Deputy Director of the South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership and for fifteen years was one of the co-directors of the ESRC National Centre for Research Methods where she led research on the pedagogy of research methods learning. She has been conferred with gold membership of the Asian Qualitative Research Association, for support of qualitative research development, and with an honorary doctorate from VID, Norway, for her contribution to science. She was until recently editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Learning Disabilities and co-editor of International Journal of Research & Method in Education before that. She is also on the editorial boards of Teaching in Higher Education, Teaching Educational Research Methods, European Journal of Special Needs Education and Disability and Society. Her research projects have focused on innovation and inclusivity in pedagogy and research methods, changing research practices in response to Covid-19, and quality and belonging in inclusive research.

(Dr) Julia Barnes. Research Interests: Touch, Education, Wellbeing, Collaboration, in relation to people with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities.

Soon to be Dr, Julia Barnes is studying for a Doctorate in Education at Birmingham University exploring students with profound and multiple learning disabilities experiences of being touched during their days at school. She has previously done and masters in SEN and collaborated with the Intensive Interaction Institute. Julia leads a large PMLD department. She teaches a class of students with PMLD 4 days a week and 1 day a week researches with them, using ethnography and body worn cameras to ensure to the best of her ability that they are heard within her work.

Julia's life has been dedicated to her students and her families, and her long career means she has collected any number of invaluable practice tips - most recently she shared with me the 'hack' of keeping people's hats inside their coat sleeves so that the do not get lost. Her research is just as practical. Julia speaks passionately about the value of loving and nurting touch in her own childhood, and wants everyone, especially her students to experience the love and respect they deserve.

When not working or studying Julia enjoys keeping folk traditions alive and is likely to be making rag rugs or participating in sword dancing somewhere in the north of England.

Conversation leaders:

Elle Kay, with Andy Ruddick - Individual Objects of Reference

Elle Kay is a special school teacher and researcher driven by a commitment to authentic communication for individuals with PMLD. Her work stems from a desire to move beyond generic systems, focusing instead on how individual objects of reference can become powerful tools for agency. By distilling her research into clear, effective guidance, Elle bridges the gap between theoretical framework and the lived classroom experience. Her research on communication through objects of reference is currently in production for publication in the British Journal of Learning Disabilities.

Joining her is Andy Ruddick, Head Teacher, with a strong focus on inclusion.
Together, they explore how to transition from individual classroom successes to a robust, whole-setting approach, crucially, without the loss of individualisation caused by standardisation. Their session offers a roadmap for ensuring that inclusive communication is not just a localised practice, but the cultural heartbeat of an entire school.

Fathima Nowshard - Parents Perspectives

Fathima Nowshard is a teacher of learners with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD), a parent to a child with profound and multiple learning disabilities, and a researcher focused on amplifying parents’ voices in research and practice. She holds a MEd in SPMLD from the University of Birmingham.

Fathima’s research recognised that the parents of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities are crucial as advocates for their children, but they often feel unheard or silenced by the professionals who support their children. Fathima’s work provides recommendations about working with parents.

Maria Wilson - Equitable Access to Literacy

Maria is an Outreach Teacher for Central Auckland Specialist School in Aotearoa New Zealand. She is originally from England, where she worked for 8 years as a teacher in London, and has a background in drama and theatre arts, which sparked her passion for stories and made her an advocate for equitable access to literacy education.

Her research is inquiring into how best to support students with diverse communication skills -such as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) users - to learn to read. Situated within current shifts in the New Zealand curriculum towards structured
literacy approaches, her work aims to address teacher's concerns around engaging students who communicate differently in reading and books as well as accurate assessments for non/pre-verbal students and which approach(es) are most appropriate to support access to literacy education.
Maria works in collaboration with the schools and families she supports and her commitment to equity, culturally responsive pedagogy, and rights-affirming practice underpins her approach to exploring inclusive literacy practices. She welcomes this opportunity to connect and learn with other specialist educators and families.

Rebecca Swith - Ambient Jam

Rebecca Swift is an artist–researcher, mentor, and Creative Director of Entelechy Arts with over 35 years’ experience developing interdisciplinary arts in grassroots and community settings. Her practice spans spoken word, dance, theatre, and visual art.

Ambient Jam is a continuous collaborative research process conducted by all who participate. Rebecca co-created the Ambient Jam approach — an improvisational, sensory, and movement-based arts practice developed with people with complex and multiple disabilities — and later adapted it for care home environments.

Rebecca is deeply experienced in fostering inclusion and culture within complex settings, including care homes, SEND schools, hospital wards, outdoor spaces, and diverse local communities. She has mentored numerous artists over the years, supporting their development in inclusive and community-based creative practice.

(Dr) Elspeth Clark

Soon to be Dr, Elspeth Clark is an Occupational Therapist exploring how engaging in meaningful activity can facilitate the experience and expression of belonging for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Elspeth has been working in collaboration with a group of students with profound and multiple learning disabilities in their special school.

Elspeth has also been a researcher in residence for Oily Cart Multisensory Theatre Company.

Sarah Clayton

Sarah Clayton is the CEO of Simple Stuff Works Associates, where she leads a dedicated team developing training materials and equipment to advance therapeutic night positioning. Her work is recognized as best practice within NHS Public Health England guidance for postural care services, emphasizing the protection of body shape.

Sarah will empower you to delivered positive postural care experiences, and share accessible and accurate postural care information, enabling informed decisions for individuals and their families. Sarah is dedicated to fostering practical, impactful solutions to improve the lives of those requiring support with postural care and body symmetry.

Host

Dr Jo Grace

Jo Grace is the Founder of The Sensory Projects, her own doctoral research explored Identity and Belonging for and with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities. She will be hosting the day and briefly sharing insights from her work as she does so.

If you have any questions about this event please do not hesitate to get intouch.

If you cannot make this event but would like to attend a similar event please look at The Sensory Projects upcoming events.