A baby play company that has branches in Salford has bagged two national awards.

The franchise which specialises in baby development, won one award for ‘Best New Baby Activity’ and a second award for ‘Most Loved New Activity for Franchises’.

Bloom Baby multi-sensory classes have been running in the Salford area since January and have been a big hit for local mums and babies.

Lizzie McKendry, 39, owner of the Manchester West franchise has said: “I am super thrilled about this because it gives us a little bit more credibility and our own parents from the classes voted for us to get the awards so that means a lot.”

Lizzie runs classes in Worsley, Swinton and Prestwich, however, there are many other Bloom classes available in surrounding areas.

Image Credit Anna Mason: Worsley multi-sensory class.

Multi-sensory classes include bright lights, music, sounds and different textures for babies to feel whilst in a safe environment.

Research has shown that involving babies in sensory activities from birth helps to boost their brain structure.

In the first three months of a baby’s life two million neural connections are created in their brains every second, this is why sensory stimulation is essential for babies. Sensory classes are also helpful for the development of babies with special needs.

Lizzie said: “Sensory classes are important for babies because it helps babies interact and be social with other babies as well as being involved with the activities we do to encourage their natural development.”

Image Credit Anna Mason: Tapping sticks to the rhythm of the music.

Lizzie runs two classes to benefit different age groups. Caterpillar Club is for babies aged from six weeks to six months old and Busy Bees Club is for babies aged six months to one year. The different classes are planned to help encourage babies natural development based on their age.

Caterpillar Club focuses on visual stimulation using pom poms and parachutes as well as moving babies to the rhythm of music to help develop their speech and language.

Busy Bees Club also focus on speech development but using different props such as tapping sticks and shakers which is good to encourage babies to hold objects.

Laying a baby on their front which is also known as ‘tummy time’ helps babies learn to move around and start grabbing what is in front of them.

Lizzie said: “We’ve had a few mothers come who have suffered from postnatal depression and anxiety problems who find it hard to attend classes and they have said the classes have helped them with what they are going through”

“It has been proven that singing with other people will improve your mental health and that is for mums as well as babies.”

Katie, one of the mothers said: “My baby used to hate tummy time and he would cry but now he loves it so it’s really nice to see him develop.”

If you are interested in attending a multi-sensory class with your baby visit the website for more information on how to book.

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