Bangkok Patana’s Foundation Stage recently became a vibrant hub for collaboration as nearly 100 educators from schools across Bangkok gathered to focus on an essential question: How can we create rich sensory experiences that enable every child to thrive?

The afternoon formed part of the Early Years Inclusion Hub series — a unique initiative that brings together teachers, learning assistants, therapists and school leaders to share expertise and strengthen inclusive practice. This term’s theme centred on sensory development and its role in fostering engagement, regulation, and learning for young children.

Our visitors spent time immersed in the Foundation Stage environment, observing first-hand how carefully curated spaces can support children’s sensory needs. From quiet nooks for self-regulation to outdoor areas alive with texture, sound and movement, the environment told the story of Patana’s commitment to our Teaching and Learning practices — where fostering belonging and ensuring participation are core principles.

Research-Informed Practice

Sensory play is more than just fun — it is vital to brain development. Research from the Harvard Center on the Developing Child, highlights that multisensory experiences strengthen neural connections and support executive functioning skills such as attention and self-control. Dr. Jean Ayres, a pioneer in sensory integration theory, described sensory experiences as the “nourishment for the brain,” essential for motor coordination, emotional regulation and social participation. Ruth Swailes discusses that with motor coordination comes movement fluency and the ability to connect movements and marks, the earliest development stage of handwriting.

During the hub session, participants explored the impact of sensory processing differences on children’s ability to participate fully in learning. Practical workshops focused on identifying children who may need additional sensory support and designing environments that balance stimulation with calm. Presentations from the Patana team included “Sensory Play in the Environment – Beyond the Mess” and an informative session “Supporting Language and Learning through Sensory Play”

A Community of Learners

One of the most powerful aspects of the Inclusion Hub is the spirit of collaboration it fosters. Educators shared challenges and successes, reflected on case studies, and co-created strategies they could take back to their own schools.

Participants left inspired, commenting on how the hub deepened their understanding of the connection between sensory development and inclusive learning. “It was valuable to see theory put into practice,” noted one visiting teacher. “Seeing first-hand, how thoughtful design can make participation possible for everyone has left me feeling totally inspired. Bangkok Patana Early Years is the best!”

The Patana Commitment

At Bangkok Patana, inclusion is not an initiative but a mindset. The Inclusion Hub is one way we live out this commitment — by opening our doors, sharing practice, and learning together with the wider educational community.

As the hub concluded, there was a shared sense of purpose: to continue building environments where every child — regardless of background, ability or need — feels they belong and can participate fully, to learn and grow. This collaboration strengthens not just individual schools, but the entire Bangkok education community.

Our Primary and Secondary PE & Sport leaders recently attended the FOBISIA PE Conference 2025, hosted by Marlborough College in Malaysia. The conference brought together almost 200 delegates from 90 schools across Southeast Asia, giving staff an opportunity share ideas, network, and explore the latest thinking in PE and Sport education. Patana staff were fortunate to hear from world-class keynote speakers. Olympic champion Adam Peaty OBE delivered an inspiring talk on “Greatness Starts with Mindset”, highlighting the mental resilience required to achieve at the highest level. Dr. Emma Ross shared her powerful message “Sport in Her Shoes”, offering new perspectives on supporting female athletes within a school setting, while Gilbert Enoka ONZM shared how to “Create and Maintain High-Performing Cultures”, drawing on his experiences working with teams such a the New Zealand All Blacks. As well as key note speakers staff had the opportunity to attend a range of workshops designed to enhance teaching practice, including “Exploration into Sensory Systems and Reflexes”, which looked at how physical literacy develops through movement, and “GCSE PE: Top Ten Tips to Beat the Opposition”, providing practical strategies for classroom success.

These experiences have given our PE leaders fresh insights to reflect upon and new ideas to consider when leading on PE and Sport provision at Patana.

In a world where airlines seem determined to squeeze every penny from travellers, a clever use of Large Language Models (LLMs) eg ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity etc, might just be the secret weapon students and families need. A recent guide by Nick Smith outlines eight powerful prompts that can help users uncover the cheapest flight options without relying on loyalty programmes, VPNs, or complicated hacks.

From scanning for the lowest fares across flexible dates to identifying multi-layover routes under budget, these prompts turn AI chatbots into a savvy travel assistant. Users can even request breakdowns of hidden fees, generate refund comparisons, and draft persuasive emails for price matches or upgrades. One particularly intriguing prompt explores “hidden-city ticketing”—a controversial method that can reduce fares but comes with risks.

While the most advanced features work best with paid plans, even free users can benefit with a bit of manual effort. The article encourages readers to experiment, share their wins, and save money for more exciting parts of their journey—like the destination itself.

For tech-savvy students planning holidays or school trips, this is a smart, accessible way to stretch travel budgets further. Just prompt, plan, and fly smarter. I used the prompts to find a direct flight back to London for just $173.

Have a great half term!

When we hear the term ‘coding’ people are quick to assume that it is for older students, maths-minded or tech experts. However, this is not the case—it is a skill that can be introduced to very young children, and our students at Bangkok Patana are already grasping the basics of programming through our carefully curated technology curriculum. 

In the early years, coding begins through simple ‘unplugged’ activities. For example, when children sequence a story or follow a recipe for Playdough, they learn that clear, step-by-step instructions are vital. These playful experiences introduce the foundations of Computational Thinking – the same concepts that underpin computer programming (collecting resources, sequencing events, planning the process, checking the results). Coding also helps children develop communication skills – it teaches them to express their ideas clearly and logically. They are often required to collaborate with others and need to persevere when things don’t go as planned.  

This term in Year 2: Creating Games with Octo Studio 
By Year 2, our learners are ready to take these ideas further. Using Octo Studio, an engaging coding app developed by MIT, the children have been designing and building their very own games. They can select characters from a wide range of emojis, or some chose to get even more creative—modifying or drawing their own characters using the paint feature or even taking and editing photos to use as their Sprites.  

With just a few coding blocks, students can make their characters jump, speak, or glow, and respond to tapping or tilting—perfect elements for interactive games! They then proudly test their creations with classmates, learning to give and receive feedback. 

It is a joy to see their faces light up when their games work as they imagined, and equally wonderful to see their determination when “debugging” their scripts. Along the way, they developed resilience, collaboration, and creative problem-solving, while also learning new computing vocabulary in a meaningful context. 

What may seem like play is, in fact, a powerful introduction to computer science. By making coding fun, hands-on, and age-appropriate, we are giving our young learners the confidence to see themselves as creators of technology—not just users of it. 

The fundamentals of coding are explored throughout Primary as children develop logical thinking and problem-solving skills.  Coding puzzles and hands on programmable robot toys help children to practice step-by-step thinking and build resilience. These skills develop through the years as we introduce Microsoft’s MakeCode and game making.   

Ask any coder and they will surely agree that the old adage “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” is an important mantra if you want to be successful.  

Coding through Year 1 and Year 2 

• Year 1 Term 1 B: Beebot/BlueBot & Vex 123 – By planning and sequencing simple commands to get a robot to move towards a goal, students begin to understand the sequential nature of clear instruction and how to spot bugs and errors in their solutions. 
• Year 1 Term 3: Scratch Jr is a great app for creativity as it allows students to code simple animations to tell stories.   Students must break their ideas down into clear coded steps and test their ideas.