Downsell Primary School’ new Sensory Garden was opened on Friday 15th November 2024 by the school’s Chair of Governors, David Backhouse MBE.

The garden is the latest in a series of ideas by Deena Chetty, the school’s Headteacher, to do more to support young children with special needs – and go above and beyond that which is expected of maintained community schools, by making better use of the space available and being innovative in his ideas and plans. 

The garden has a range of features including an amphitheatre, water wall and sensory path with musical panels. In pride of place is an area of small rocks, each individually painted by the pupils themselves, staff, supporters and also members of the Governing Body. 

Even the pathway has a range of surfaces for pupils to feel and become aware of as they walk around. But the garden is not just for those with special needs, it is there to be enjoyed by all pupils, e.g. it has a play area comprising a climbing frame and a canopy area so that it can be used in the rain on occasion. 

Every class will use it at least once a week. This is the latest in a series of projects for the pupils; last year a state-of-the-art Nurture Room fitted with sophisticated resources to stimulate the children audibly, visibly and by touch. 

The Headteacher said: “Like many other schools today, we are seeing more and more children with special needs being admitted, some of whom have quite complex conditions meaning they cannot access the classroom for 100% of the time. This will be yet another area of the school they can use to learn and feel more relaxed if a lesson in the classroom becomes too much.” It has always been our philosophy to do our very best for pupils with special needs, including those whose progress can only be measured in very small steps, too fine to be measured on a national scale. It is, however, very important, for parents to know and see that their child is making progress, however, small – and that the school is doing its best for them. After the opening ceremony, a parent with two children with special needs who did not want to be named said: “This is so wonderful for the children – I had tears coming down my cheeks during your speech!” Acknowledging the work of the designers and constructors, Everyday Play, the Chair of Governors made a special mention of their enthusiasm and commitment in completing the project on time and within budget. He added: “I have not been able to say that too often in recent years”.