Pre-school children with special educational needs can look forward to fun and stimulating sessions after a £350 donation from Tarmac enabled a playgroup to buy new sensory equipment.
Early years practitioners at Barrow upon Soar Pre-School Playgroup, in Leicestershire, are thrilled that all of the children in their setting will benefit from the addition to their sensory play.
The playgroup has created sensory display boards for the children to explore during their play. They have also had visits from an outside company called ‘Little Glow HQ’, which provided the playgroup with an assortment of sensory equipment including lighting and glow eggs.
Karen Walker, Deputy Manager at the playgroup, said: “Sensory lights and other equipment really help with the learning development for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN)“.
“Thanks to the donation from Tarmac, we have been able to create sensory displays, buy a sensory dark den, three tunnels for exploratory play and have visits from an outside company to extend the children’s learning.”
Karen says even those children who aren’t considered SEN can benefit from the equipment because it helps them develop knowledge, understanding and empathy.
There was even a personal donation of a sensory light tower from a Tarmac employee as well as the cash donation from the company. Claire Butler, operations administrator at Mountsorrel Quarry, donated an additional colour changing sensory floor lamp.
Claire said: “It is great for children with the need for sensory input. My autistic eight-year-old son, Ethan, no longer needed his, so I gave it to them to make use of it. Theirs had literally been knocked over the week before and was broken beyond repair.”
Rob Lees, manager at Mountsorrel Quarry, said: “We are proud to support local communities wherever we can and hope the new equipment provides a fun and stimulating learning environment for the youngsters.”
Karen added: “Some of these special pieces are quite expensive so we are extremely grateful to Claire and Tarmac for their help. Light tunnels can run to £100 while the light-up pebbles are £50 each.
“The items aren’t things you can just buy off the internet. As a charity, we always welcome help so anyone who wishes to donate can contact us at the school at [email protected] or by calling 07975 957 242.”