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Regions: South East, England

Loddon Primary School

Loddon Primary Sensory Room Back to school couldn’t have been more of a celebration for the students at Loddon Primary School as they were welcomed to two brand-new sensory spaces in September.

Specially built for learning, socialisation, and play – the sensory rooms are filled with exciting multisensory resources designed to stimulate and nurture senses.

Keep on reading to find out how the project came together.

 

Project Background

After ordering a copy of our Sensory Catalogue, Loddon Primary was inspired to create two relaxation areas in their school. The sensory spaces could be used to support students’ emotions, senses and learning throughout the day. So whether students find the noise and light levels of a classroom too overwhelming or if they’re looking for a quiet moment to focus on their senses – they’ll be able to do so in a safe space.

With that brief, our sensory design and installation teams set to work!

 

Turning a Bathroom into a Sensory Room?

Before we could get started, our handy installation team needed to transform an old bathroom into a blank canvas for one of the new sensory spaces. This involved ripping out tiles, toilets and sinks and stripping the space to its bare bones. Once the room was gutted, they could plaster, paint and sort out its electrics, ready for the sensory carpets, padding and resources.

 

KS1 Sensory Room

We created two room designs – one for KS1 and the other for KS2 – with subtle differences in key resources to best support the different age groups.

The KS1 sensory room was designed around the concept of Hygge – cosy, comfortable, and soft.

Illuminated by sensory mood lighting, the whole space has a magical glow. Students can relax under the bubbling glow of the bubble tube or gaze into the endless lights of the infinity tunnel. Soft padding lines the room, creating endless sitting places and extra protection against bumps or bruises.

Loddon Primary Sensory Room

 

KS2 Sensory Room

Whilst the KS2 sensory room was made for dreamers. We made the most of this windowless room by bathing it in soft sensory light. Soft hues glitter and glow from various sensory resources around the room, centring on the bubbling bubble tube that acts like a beacon of light in the corner of the space.

Dark sensory rooms give users a chance to focus. Without the added stimulation of a bright overhead light, users can focus on understimulated senses, like touch and sound, which are effective at grounding and calming.

Other calming features include the retro-style UV Carpet, Line Lite Mirror, rainbow ladder and fibre optic tails.

Loddon Primary Sensory RoomLoddon Primary Sensory Room

Loddon Primary School is a mainstream primary school for children aged 2-11 years old in Reading.

Ruth House

Ruth House is a specialist residential home for children and young adults on the Autism Spectrum. Run by Surrey County Council, the home provides a place to live and equips residents with the life skills they need to develop, flourish, and grow into independent members of society. Rhino UK were contacted by Ruth House to create a specialist padding solution for one of their residents and transform her apartment into a safe living space.

Ruth House contacted our design team as they needed a special solution to support the wellbeing of one of their residents – Lucy*.

Lucy has a visual impairment, ASD and requires round the clock care by a team of OT’s and support staff. Lucy has a tendency is to bang her head and body against the apartment’s walls and hard surfaces, self-harming, something Ruth House were keen to curb. That’s where our sensory design team got involved, ready to transform Lucy’s apartment into a relaxing, safe, sensory space.

 

Project Requirements

  • Safety padding to cover the walls, floors, doors, and radiators in Lucy’s four-room apartment.
  • Padding that is thin enough to accommodate fire doors.
  • Coloured padding that compliments the apartment’s interiors.
  • A quick turnaround to minimise disturbances to Lucy’s routines and schedules.

 

Our Design Solution

We worked closely with the project’s key stakeholders – the local council’s building surveyor and Lucy’s Occupational Therapist (OT) – so that our sensory design team could create a space that would work for Lucy, her support staff, Ruth House, and Surrey County Council.

Bespoke Padding

Our safety padding is made to measure, ensuring a snug fit throughout Lucy’s apartment. No hard space was left unpadded, radiators were boxed in, corridor walls lined, and doors comfortably covered. To meet fire regulations, floor padding around doorways was ultra-thin to allow for the easy opening/closing of doors whilst ensuring Lucy’s safety.

Living room space decorated in bright yellow safety padding.

Colour Coordinated

Lucy’s visual impairment was also integrated into the padding’s design; each space in her apartment had its own unique coloured pads, yellow in the living room, cream in the bedroom, and a bright blue along the hall. The contrast in the colours would help Lucy distinguish which space she’s in, allowing her to explore her apartment independently and with confidence.

Corridor made safe with padding along walls and floor

Efficient Install

Our install team worked round the clock to ensure the project was completed quickly and efficiently, minimising disruption to Lucy’s routine.

Living room space with grey floor padding and warm yellow wall padding

 

*Names and details have been changed to protect the identity of the clients.

 

Parkside Centre

Rhino UK created a sensory room full of exciting, stimulating sensory equipment incorporating some existing favourites.

Little Miracles Centres

Rhino UK installed and delivered £48k of sensory equipment and resources with 2 weeks notice to meet tight deadlines.