Seashell Trust Sensory Nook – at the heart of the Royal School Manchester
Seashell is a national learning disability charity supporting children and young adults with complex learning difficulties, disabilities, and additional communication needs from across the UK. They provide specialist education, care, and support for people aged from 4 to 25 years at their outstanding school and college, residential homes, and through supported living services, community facilities, and services that they offer beyond the Cheadle Hulme, Manchester site.
Following another successful funding nomination, Money & Mortgages are delighted that the Openwork Foundation have enabled a new sensory nook in the heart of the new Royal School Manchester building.
“The success and amazing impact that the nooks have had meant that they now installed 5 in the new school and they are also being explored for the college. We simply can’t provide these vital pieces of equipment without the support from organisations like The Openwork Foundation, so thank you once again.” Dianne Gill, Fundraising Manager said.
Following a third consecutive Outstanding judgement from Ofsted, the new Moulding Foundation Building, home to Royal School Manchester opened in April 2023. Staff have already seen a huge difference in both the way they are able to deliver the curriculum and the way in which students have responded to their new surroundings. The building includes an assembly hall for 200 people with retractable seating, a dining hall with both group and individual dining spaces, an assessment suite with a high-tech audiology suite and a swimming centre comprising of a learner pool with a rise and fall floor and an interactive hydrotherapy pool. The building utilizes a series of light-gatherers on the roof to provide indirect sunlight for the classrooms. Every part of the building has been acoustically designed in a such a way to ensure little or no reverberation. Where it be individual classrooms or the large assembly and dining halls the needs of the students with a hearing impairment or autism spectrum disorders have been considered.
More sensory regulation areas have enabled the students to have more autonomy over their emotional state. Having the sensory nooks in the Heart Space has facilitated more interaction between students with their peers and support staff. Here’s how one of the students reacts to the sensory nook >
Read more in our previous blog about Seashell Trust here >
Find out more:
www.seashelltrust.org.uk Registered Charity number: 1092655
The Openwork Foundation, a UK registered charity (number 1184592) is at the heart of the Money & Mortgages business culture. The Foundation’s mission is to make a positive difference and it is proud to support vulnerable children and adults in the UK and overseas supported by the generous donations of time and money from the businesses and members of the Openwork Group. These donations to provide grants to UK registered charities, to help those most in need in our communities and all grants are nominated by a member of the Openwork Group.
www.openwork.uk.com/charity/the-openwork-foundation/ Registered Charity number 1184592