Outdoor Sensory Gym

 Friends of Bright Futures School is the charitable PTA for Bright Futures School for children with autism in Greenfield, Oldham. Bright Futures School is a small, nurturing, special independent school for children with autism with a low stimulus environment and a high level of 1-1 teaching by Learning Mentors that is overseen by qualified teaching staff. The school is registered for just 15 pupils and  follows the national curriculum, personalising the timetable for each of the pupils, matching their interests to staff skills and expertise and offering positive engagement at every opportunity. The last OFSTED inspection rated the school as GOOD.
Our charitable objects are a) To develop effective relationships between the staff, parents and others associated with the school and b) To engage in activities or provide facilities or equipment, which support the school and advance the education and life experiences of the pupils. Our last project raised funds for a sensory room, play area & touchscreen TVs in the new school. We are currently looking to raise funds for an outdoor sensory gym area, consisting of the equipment as shown.
The sensory gym area will be situated outside of the pupils' classrooms and pupils will have access at breaks, lunchtimes and other session times. Pupils have been especially hit hard with Covid 19 restricting the outdoor activities that pupils would usually engage in and pupils not being able to go off site to take part in activities that they usually enjoy participating in. Many of the pupils at Bright Futures School suffer with anxiety and difficulties managing uncertainty. When this happens they need time to regulate their emotions and until this happens, the brain is not able to function as would be expected- this can be called meltdown. The sensory gym areas proposed by FBFS would give pupils access to equipment that could be used to help pupils regulate their emotions and return to a feeling of calm and being in control which in turn helps them to re-engage in learning. During the pandemic, many of the pupils have experienced more meltdowns, and families have struggled to get their children to engage as they have been out of their comfort zones /able to access their usual routines / places. FBFS wants to help the pupils manage their emotions more easily and by using the sensory gym, pupils will be able to enjoy the activity as well as helping with their sensory processing and regulation.