Children Thrive Thanks to Sensory Gym at Watford school

Children are delighted with a new ‘sensory gym’ and garden area at their special school in Watford, thanks to the support of local housing association Thrive Homes.

Thrive awarded £12,000 from its Community Grants fund to help pay for the outdoor gym equipment at Colnbrook School, in South Oxhey. Staff also spent three days volunteering at the school, building wooden planters so children can now grow their own fruit, vegetables and flowers.

Thrive Homes is a housing association which owns and manages more than 4,000 rented and leasehold properties in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. The work with Colnbrook School was part of Thrive’s on-going staff volunteering programme, where colleagues volunteer to do hands-on work with various organisations and charities for the benefit of local people and communities.

Colnbrook School is a special school for primary aged children, catering for pupils with learning difficulties, autism and speech, language and communication needs.  Headteacher Richard Hill said the gym featured a safety surface and was covered with a canopy, so could be used in all weathers.

He said: “The gym is extremely popular – the pupils love it. They queue up to go on it, so we’ve had to set up a rota system at play-time to make sure everyone gets a go. The different kinds of equipment are great for their physical fitness as well as stimulating different senses."

"We are also grateful to Thrive for the planters, which are encouraging the children to try some gardening. They planted pansies at first but will also be growing their own vegetables and fruit."

“Both the new gym and the planters promote the outside environment as a learning resource, which is a key part of the curriculum. They are also helping to develop pupils’ social skills and ability to transfer their learning so they can access similar facilities in the community.”

Zulf Awan, Community Partnerships Manager at Thrive Homes, said: “It’s been a pleasure working at the school and supporting them to buy the gym equipment – we are glad to help and it’s been rewarding to see how much the children are enjoying the new facilities.”

Thrive Homes’ Community Grants Scheme supports projects that make a real difference to individuals and their communities. The scheme has awarded grants to a variety of initiatives over the last five years, totalling over £200,000. To apply for funding or find out more, call the Policy and Communications team on 0800 917 6077 or 020 8428 4428, or visit Thrive Homes.

(Source: Word Association)