Sensory Case Study: Carr Lodge Academy

Written by Pat McMahon
February 5, 2022

Every Child. Every Chance. Every Day.

Carr Lodge Academy, part of Exceed Learning Partnership Academy Trust, care for children aged three to eleven and have strong values, ethos and vision when it comes to inclusive education that caters for all children. Based in Balby, Doncaster, the academy caters for over 400 children and already have multiple facilities for enhanced learning, including a music, drama and dance studio, and a spacious outdoors conservation area, that the academy developed with support from the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

RISE were asked to install a sensory room to further enhance the academy’s facilities by creating a calming and stimulating environment, for children of all abilities.

Sensory Room Adaptation

Carr Lodge contacted RISE intending to enhance their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision by installing a sensory space within the school. In addition to being a great space for SEND children to use, sensory rooms can be utilised by children of all abilities to enhance their schooling experience through sensory play or relaxation.

RISE consulted with the academy and trust and found a suitable location to adapt into a sensory space — an existing toilet block. Works were mainly carried out during the October half term to minimise disruption on-site and provide the children something new to look forward to once they returned to school.

The first task involved making the old toilet block feel less like a toilet by giving it a complete internal renovation which included multipaneled walls to ensure the space was cosy and looked tidy.
Once the room was suitably adapted, we carried out a full fit-out including electrical work and the installation of multiple pieces of high-tech sensory equipment from Osborne Technologies.

Our team liaised with Site Manager, Jason Grant whilst carrying out the works.

“You wouldn’t believe the new space used to be a toilet block!” said Jason. “The project has been completely transformational, and the new sensory room looks polished and professional. The team, who were on site every day, were friendly and ensured works were carried out professionally, leaving no mess behind at the end of each day.”

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No Limits. No Barriers. No Excuses.

Carr Lodge welcome pupils of all abilities including those with a variety of special educational needs and seek to take each unique child and develop from their needs, this inclusive policy, is reflected in the mission statement: ‘No limits. No barriers. No excuses.’

Sarah Cope, the Principal at Carr Lodge views the new sensory space as a fantastic addition to the schools already inclusive policy:

“Our staff already work hard to create a calm and caring atmosphere,” she says, “and the new sensory room will add to our existing tools and initiatives designed to meet the needs of all our pupils.”

“We’re delighted with the work carried out by RISE. The team completed the project with no fuss, and our pupils are already utilising the new space and enjoying the sensory equipment.”

Scope of Works

Working as principal contractor, we provided the following scope of works:

Strip-out of existing room and capping-off existing piping;
Installation of new flooring, Multipanel wall panels and suspended ceiling;
First and second fix electrical, including lighting, ventilation and all specialist equipment;
Testing and commissioning of all specialist equipment; and
Specialist staff training.

For further information about our sensory products and service, please get in touch.

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