Sensory Rooms
Highfurlong are fortunate to have two bespoke sensory rooms accessible at all times for pupils.
Sensory rooms can help pupils who have learning difficulties, developmental disabilities or sensory impairments learn to interact with the world around them, but in a safe environment that builds up their confidence and their ability. The pupil gets a space where they can explore at their own leisure. This freedom lets their teacher, therapist or carer see what calms them, rouses them and what they do or don’t like.
Benefits of a sensory room
There are a whole host of benefits of a sensory room for those who require them. Some of these include:
- Sensory stimulation- Encourages the pupil to engage with and explore the environment which can have positive effects on their ability to understand, react and interact with the larger world around them.
- Enhance learning through play- Sensory play helps children to develop their senses, encourages problem solving and can build nerve connections in the brain. Sensory stimulation also engages different areas of the brain, helping children absorb and retain more information.
- Improve balance, movement and spatial orientation- Sensory rooms can help develop pupils’ visual processing abilities as well as their fine and gross motor skills, facilitating day-to-day living. This is particularly beneficial for individuals with physical difficulties or Cerebral Palsy.
- Develop communication skills- Interactive sensory rooms can help to engage individuals, and sensory equipment that focuses on sound can be especially helpful in encouraging vocalisation.
- Calming environment- Sensory environments can be highly absorbing, providing a moment of comfort and calm for overactive and distressed individuals. Similarly, the safe and controlled nature of a sensory room can help individuals feel comfortable enough to interact with their surroundings.
- Improve focus- This is an important skill for children to develop so they can cope with real-world environments where calm and concentration is key.
- Promote socialisation – A great sensory room benefit is that it can be used by individuals on their own or in groups. Using a sensory room with others can help to promote socialisation skills in a safe, calm and stress-free environment.
Conor’s Corner
Conor’s Corner was funded by the Cartmell family in memory of their son Conor. The room is a traditional sensory room that offers a relaxing and calming environment.
The room consists of a heated waterbed with incorporated sound system, bubble tubes, hammock and much more.
Immersive Sensory Room
The Immersive Sensory Room was funded by the Variety Children’s Charity. This fabulous resource is an immersive sensory system, featuring an interactive floor and walls. The floor and wall projection responds to body movement when it is detected by the overhead cameras.
The room creates a complete sensory environment by enabling all pupils even those with very limited movement to alter the environment. Any image, video and audio file can be added to the many effects so it can be specifically targeted for each pupil.
