Mother of two shares how she ‘took the plunge’ to set up successful baby group in Northampton

A mother of two has shared how she “took the plunge” more than five years ago to set up a successful baby group in Northampton.

Baby Sensory Northampton went from running in different village halls and surviving the pandemic, to now having a permanent venue just outside of Duston.

The weekly activities are based on research around targeting different areas of the brain and enabling all-round development in babies.

It all began when Sarah Walker purchased the Northampton franchise in October 2018, when her son was just over a year old.

As a mother of two, Sarah found there was a lack of baby sensory classes in the town when she had her daughter 15 months earlier than her son.

She was invited to attend classes under the Milton Keynes franchise of Baby Sensory by someone she knew and really enjoyed the experience with her son.

“I took the plunge and bought the Northampton franchise,” Sarah told the Chronicle & Echo. “It was completely new. Before I had children I worked in office and operations management. I hadn’t done performance and wanted a new challenge, as I’d done my other job since I left school at 16.”

As Sarah was made redundant before she went on maternity leave to have her first child, she decided to go down a different career path – and this began with lots of training courses to develop her knowledge before classes started.

When asked to describe what Baby Sensory Northampton offers, Sarah said: “It’s a learning and development programme for babies up to 13 months, for mental, physical and social development. It’s an all-round baby class. We do massage, yoga and sensory development.”

As Sarah and her two employees offer so much to the Northampton community, parents often find they do not have to attend elsewhere as they get everything they need from Baby Sensory.

Sarah secured her first permanent venue in Nobottle Road in September 2021, after she had gone between different village halls and community centres – as well as online for a number of months during the pandemic.

The response has been “amazing” and Sarah has built the franchise up from offering a couple of sessions a week, to 14 classes across five days.

“The parents are always so grateful,” she said. “They love coming and having fun, and they can see the benefit.”

Sarah also sees the parents developing friendships and she says it is a good opportunity to meet other new parents in a similar situation.

When asked her proudest achievement since she bought the franchise, Sarah said: “Being able to provide the service for parents – for them to come along and feel they are in a safe space.”

She ensures the sessions are “welcoming and engaging” and enable the parents to see “how amazing their babies are”.

Taking on a permanent venue after almost three years of Baby Sensory Northampton was another highlight for Sarah.

Though she plans to continue the group as it is in 2024, next year Sarah would like to offer classes on a mobile basis too.

Baby Sensory Northampton would like to get back out into the community, to reach parents who cannot get to their permanent venue.

For more information on Baby Sensory Northampton, visit the group’s Facebook page here.