Staff at Sunderland school 'over the moon' after opening new £50,000 outdoor learning area for children with special needs

Sunderland Echo

Ryhope Infant School Academy have opened their new outdoor learning and play area to support children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Transcript

00:00Okay, the kids are having a great time. Here's where the idea came from for this new play

00:18room.

00:19It's just been a change in the number of children with SEN, more complex needs, so

00:25we felt that we needed to create a space to meet their needs and ensure that they're

00:31learning and making progress and happy coming into school.

00:33What are some of the things we've got here then?

00:37So we created a big outdoor space and felt that they needed a climbing area, so this

00:44space was completely empty before and used. We've created a swing, there's a climbing

00:51wall, an A-frame to climb over, there's the monkey bars and hanging bars. Then we've

00:56got a big water world which the children absolutely love and have lots of fun in, which has meant

01:03that there's been lots more social skills developed and the children want to interact

01:07more with each other and play with each other, and also interact with the adults, requesting

01:12people on the swing, requesting adults to push them, so it's really developing those

01:16social skills.

01:18And what's in the indoor area as well? There's an indoor space as well, isn't there?

01:21That's more, it has more sensory areas, it's got a soft play, it's got lots of jigsaws,

01:28puzzles, numbers, so we try and focus on more formal, well not formal learning, but math,

01:36English, those type of activities indoors and then it's the big space outside.

01:40So just how pleased are you with the result then?

01:42We're absolutely over the moon and the children are absolutely loving coming into school,

01:47really happy, regulated, and much more engaged, and I've had huge positive feedback from parents

01:54as well, they're loving it as well.

02:17Oh you've got to be quick! Go on then, show them what you do!

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