Berkshire Sensory Consortium Service
Chatty Monkeys and Busy Bees
Why don't you come along to one of our preschool groups with your little one!
We always look forward to meeting new families and you would be very warmly welcomed
Our pre-school groups are a great way to meet the SCS team, families and other children who are deaf /hard of hearing or have a vision or multisensory impairment.
Busy Bees is our group for children with a vision impairment
Chatty Monkeys is our group for children who are deaf or have a hearing loss
Chatty Monkeys swings and smiles is a group which runs in West Berkshire and is open to both children with hearing loss and a vision impairment
If your child has a multi-sensory impairment, they are welcome to join either group or both!
Please look below for information about dates and venues
You can also get further details from your ToD or QTVI
Chatty Monkeys and Busy Bees dates for 2026/27
Chatty Monkeys Flyer 2026 - 27
Busy Bees
Our specialised preschool group is an important space for children with vision impairment, focusing on multi-sensory learning and helping our little ones hit those crucial early milestones. Through tailored play, our busy bees work on their fine motor skills, spatial awareness, and social confidence, all while learning to make sense of the world through touch, sound, and scent.
Every session is designed to stimulate the senses, for example, on Earth Day we got our hands dirty planting sunflower seeds in real soil. On International Bee Day we used paper plates to make bees, which is a brilliant way for the children to practice hand-finger and eye-hand coordination through cutting, folding, and colouring. For World Oceans Day, this year children dove into natural textures by exploring rough sand and smooth seashells.
Beyond the weekly sessions, Busy Bees is a supportive community for the whole family. We welcome our QTMSI and QTVIs, who provided invaluable advice and we are always delighted to welcome new families along to join our group.
Throughout the year we see amazing developmental progress from mastering cause-and-effect toys to building confidence with familiar rhymes.
We celebrate creativity, foster independence, and build a supportive network where every child can thrive. And above all it is our families who make our group so special.
Chatty Monkeys West (Spencers Wood)
During our sessions we love to provide the children with a language rich opportunity and demonstrate to our parents ideas and suggestions of what they could try at home, using everyday activities, that can help good language development.
We are a lovely, well-attended group with around 25 children (from a few weeks old to those about to start school).
We often have a theme and in the summer term, we have enjoyed lots of learning centred around the classic story of Jack and the Beanstalk. The children had immense fun acting out the story and bringing the characters to life, with plenty of giggles especially on the day Jody forgot to bring the actual book! This led to some wonderful imaginative storytelling as we recounted the tale from memory together. The children have become very well-versed in the famous giant's refrain: "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum, watch out giant, here I come!". To bring our theme to life, we have planted and nurtured our very own beanstalks, observing how they grow each week. We also enjoyed sensory play with a variety of beans in the tuff spot, exploring different textures and sizes.
Chatty Monkeys East
Chatty Monkeys East continues to be a small group with a few regular families and we always look forward to welcoming new families to our group. We sometimes have visits from our Educational Audiologist, as well as members of the Audiology Team from King Edward VII Hospital. This is such a great opportunity for families to have ear impressions taken, as well as to get their questions answered.
We have lots of fun singing and signing and arts and craft. We are often inspired by books and recently we have loved books and songs from the jungle. We used paint and forks to make lions, as well as enjoying books such as 'Giraffes can't dance!'
It is a lovely happy space to meet BSCS staff and other families. A place where your children can enjoy the activities on offer.
Chatty Monkeys Swings and Smiles
Everyone is always welcome at Chatty Monkeys Swings and Smiles and we make sure that our sessions on a Tuesday afternoon are run on the alternate Tuesday to the Spencers Wood Chatty Monkeys West sessions so you can come to both if you wish. You will see some familiar faces here from the Chatty Monkeys West sessions.
If it is raining, inside there is a ball pit, sensory room, swing, lots of lights and interactive music activities, as well as all the usual toys and activities that we can bring in from the preschool room next door. Cars are our favourite at the moment!
It is always a lovely opportunity for our families to get together in a supportive environment.
