Sensory play - gardens and playgrounds for children with special educational needs

     - Special needs sensory gardens -

SEN sensory garden

Rates of depression and anxiety are rising within our schools. Aspergers syndrome, ADD, ADHD, and ASDs are presenting more frequently. Malnourishment, poor concentration, poor social skills and associated educational difficulties are increasingly common. Incidence of physical and congenital disabilities, developmental delays and sensory impairments are statistically significant within our schools.

Regardless of the type of special or additional need, research shows that children and young people respond positively to nature connections. We have designed special needs play gardens locally and internationally for special schools across the UK and Europe. Features that unite our playgrounds for children with special needs are based in our proven salutogenic design approach.

​We understand the need to engage the disengaged.  Cost-effective outdoor programmes using low-maintenance school playground interventions allow teachers, care staff and the children space to be calmed or stimulated, as needed.

​Playground design for children and young people living with stress or special educational needs requires the same attention to sustainable design as design for non-affected people.

Accessibility and inclusion are at the heart of design for sensory gardens for the disabled.. Making the rich experiences of the natural world available to sight impaired, hearing impaired, learning disabled or mobility impaired people is important to us.

Key features of our special needs playgrounds and garden designs are:

• Raised planters to bring scent and colour to eye height for young people and wheelchair users.
• Water as the essential for all life
• Non toxic edible planting make a sensory garden safe for all.
• Sensory gardens with opportunities for climbing, swinging and balancing provide the most stimulating environment for special needs as well as non disabled users. Bamboo bridges, tunnels and interactive sound and water features make the space come alive for adults and children.
• Light and shade for those with impaired vision
• Sound to delight
• Wildlife to really bring the sensory garden design to life. A well-planned space will delight non disabled users as well as those with disabilities.

"When developing a design for a sensory garden or special space within a mainstream school playground, it is important that the gardens are a useful space; that is an extension of what can be done within the home, school or facility and offer people places to go outside that are safe and engaging.”

As specialist sensory garden designers, Greenstone Design works with a team of professionals, in response to the needs of the school, medical and educational itinerant staff, parents, carers, children and young people..

​The shrinking funding situation is both a challenge and an opportunity to create strong community links through valuable environmental projects.

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