Pupils from Brookfield Special School, near Lisburn, made some noise after receiving funding from the Energy for Children Charitable Trust for new pieces of sensory equipment to complete an outdoor classroom.
Brookfield Special School teaches over 160 pupils with special needs and aims to provide a happy, caring and productive learning environment, within which children are encouraged to develop their abilities and talents to their fullest extent.
Teacher Anna Donnelly applied to the Energy for Children Charitable Trust to request funding for three new pieces of sensory equipment including a water wall, an urban noise maker and an outdoor easel.
“Brookfield Special School caters for children in the Greater Lisburn Area who have moderate learning difficulties and complex learning needs. The children have a range of needs, such as speech and language difficulties, developmental delay, autistic spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,” said Anna.
“Research has proven than when a child’s sensory needs are met they are calmer and more alert, providing an optimum state for learning. We promote the idea of children being active learners and this equipment allows children to expand their exploring and investigating skills as well as meeting their sensory needs.”
“This equipment has already made a huge difference to pupils throughout the school and it’s something that the whole school community is benefitting from, right the way from nursery to Key Stage 2 pupils. We can’t thank the Energy for Children Charity enough for providing this equipment and allowing the children to enjoy lessons outside of the traditional classroom environment.”
Charity Liaison Officer, Geri Wright, said, “I’m delighted to see the pupils outside enjoying this new equipment and making use of a great space outside the classroom. Each pupil here has a different need and that can often make teaching very difficult for staff so it’s great to see both pupils and teachers benefitting from this funding. Not only is the equipment aiding in learning, but it provides an opportunity to for group play to improve social interaction.
“This is exactly why the Charity exists, to help young people who are most in need and I’m thrilled to see the positive impact it is having on pupils at Brookfield.”
For more information on the Energy for Children Charitable Trust, visit https://www.phoenixnaturalgas.com/about-us/phoenix-group/corporate-responsibility