What It Means for a Product to Be Teacher-Certified
A Shared Goal: Helping Students Thrive
Every child learns, moves, and focuses in their own way. Some find calm in stillness, others through movement or touch. Parents see these differences at home. Occupational therapists understand the sensory systems that underpin them. And teachers witness how these needs play out in the shared rhythm of the classroom.
Each perspective adds something essential. Parents bring deep personal knowledge of their child. OTs provide specialised expertise in sensory regulation. Teachers contribute practical insight into the group dynamics of learning communities. Together, they form a complete picture of how students grow, self-regulate, and connect.
At Focus Tools, teacher-certified is our way of honouring that collaboration — recognising the teacher’s role as one piece of a broader, holistic approach to helping children learn with confidence and calm.
What “Teacher-Certified” Means
When a product carries our teacher-certified label, it has been considered through the lens of real classroom experience — shaped by research and grounded in inclusion.
Teachers see what helps a student stay engaged while maintaining harmony for the group. They notice which tools invite calm focus, help children regulate, which work best during transitions, and which fit seamlessly within classroom routines.
This lived understanding, combined with evidence-based research, guides the Focus Tools selection process. Our aim is simple: to curate tools that support individual regulation and collective wellbeing — tools that belong in classrooms as naturally as pencils and books.
The Teacher-Certified Criteria
We use four criteria to assess every item in our range. They ensure each tool supports focus, regulation, and inclusivity in real learning environments.
- Quiet: Designed to minimise noise and visual movement so all students — sensory-seeking or sensory-sensitive — can stay focused together.
- Regulating: Provides rhythmic or tactile feedback that helps students calm their bodies, organise thoughts, and maintain attention.
- Compact: Practical and portable — easy to store, carry, or use discreetly without clutter or disruption.
- Subtle: Blends naturally into the classroom environment — supportive without being overly attention-grabbing or novel.
These principles reflect what good teaching already does — balance the needs of individuals with those of the group, creating learning spaces where everyone can participate fully.
Where Research and Practice Meet
Our framework is grounded in both evidence and empathy. Influential thinkers and educators have long recognised that focus, movement, and sensory regulation are deeply connected.
- Rudolf Steiner’s educational philosophy placed rhythm, movement, and form at the heart of learning, recognising that purposeful movement supports thinking, balance, and emotional harmony — ideas now echoed in contemporary research on sensory regulation and body-based learning.
- The Berry Street Education Model translates trauma-informed and relational strategies into everyday classroom practice.
- Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score (2014) deepens understanding of how physical states shape emotional wellbeing and readiness to learn.
- Dr. A. Jean Ayres’ Sensory Integration Theory (1972) established the link between sensory processing and learning.
- Occupational therapy frameworks such as the Sensory Profile 2 (SP2) and Sensory Processing Measure-2 (SPM-2) have helped educators and parents recognise how individual sensory patterns influence attention and regulation.
- Australian educator Sue Larkey has championed inclusive, strength-based approaches for autistic and neurodivergent learners, bridging classroom practice with sensory understanding.
- OT-led insights, such as those from OT4ADHD (2022, a school based OT) , clarify how the right tool can promote self-regulation and focus without distraction.
Together, these perspectives inform the teacher-certified framework — a synthesis of educational practice, sensory research, and inclusive design that supports calm, connected learning for all students.
From Individual Needs to Collective Benefit
Classrooms are living communities — and when one learner feels calm and focused, the whole group benefits. A student using a quiet fidget or a weighted cushion can set the tone for a more settled space. Over time, these tools don’t just help individuals regulate; they help shape a classroom culture of understanding and respect.
Teachers play a key role in this process:
- Introducing tools with structure and purpose.
- Modelling calm and responsible use.
- Creating routines that make regulation an accepted part of learning life.
When used this way, focus tools aren’t a novelty or an exception — they’re part of the everyday toolkit that helps all students tune in, connect, and learn with confidence.
Honouring Every Perspective
At Focus Tools, we believe that inclusive education thrives on collaboration.
- Teachers bring an understanding of classroom dynamics and the practical realities of group learning.
- Occupational therapists contribute deep expertise in sensory regulation and emotional development.
- Parents and carers provide personal knowledge of each child’s preferences, challenges, and growth.
- Education support staff reinforce strategies daily, ensuring consistency and compassion.
Each role matters. Together, they ensure every student — neurotypical, neurodivergent, sensory-seeking, or anywhere in between — feels seen, safe, and supported.
A Vision for Inclusion
Inclusion isn’t about adding something new — it’s about widening the circle so that every learner fits within it naturally. Teacher-certified is our contribution to that vision.
By choosing tools that are quiet, regulating, compact, and subtle, we help make classrooms more responsive, more respectful, and more peaceful places to learn.
Focus Tools will continue refining what “teacher-certified” means as classrooms evolve. Because the best ideas — like the best classrooms — are built through shared understanding.
References (APA Style)
Ayres, A. J. (1972). Sensory Integration and Learning Disorders. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
Berry Street Education Model. (n.d.). Trauma-Informed Education Framework. Berry Street Victoria. Retrieved from https://www.berrystreet.org.au
Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines Version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org
Dunn, W. (2014). Sensory Profile 2 (SP2). San Antonio, TX: Pearson Clinical.
Parham, L. D., Ecker, C., Miller-Kuhaneck, H., Henry, D. A., & Glennon, T. J. (2021). Sensory Processing Measure, Second Edition (SPM-2). Torrance, CA: Western Psychological Services.
Rudolf Steiner Archive. (n.d.). The Study of Man (GA 293) and Lectures on Education. Retrieved from https://rsarchive.org
Sue Larkey. (n.d.). Official Website — Practical Strategies for Teachers and Parents. Retrieved from https://www.suelarkey.com.au
OT4ADHD. (2022). Fidgets and ADHD — A Focus Tool or a Toy? Retrieved from https://ot4adhd.com.au
Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. New York: Penguin Books.