A Colchester special educational needs teacher who helped design a new specialist building has revealed how she made the facility custom-made for her pupils.

In February, Hazelmere Infant School in Hawthorne Avenue officially opened The Lodge, a new specialist building designed to support and strengthen the school’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision.

There are now a total of 16 spaces for SEND pupils across the school for children aged four to seven.

Thoughtful – Becki said the building and its equipment were extremely considered, seen a device which helps children with their sensory needs The building was funded by Essex County Council and designed by Elite architecture.

SEND teacher Becki Spencer-Slack has been teaching SEND for nearly a decade and helped create the lodge herself with artists from Elite and with Essex County Council.

She said this was an incredible opportunity, the first in her career, saying the purpose of her involvement was to make it as custom-made as you can get for a teaching environment.

Becki said: “The whole idea is I wanted the learning space to be fully open, we function very similar to an early year’s classroom.

“So, all the learning is explorative, sort of sensory. We are so hands on with the children and having it broken down smaller, it just would not have worked”.

She said with eight children potentially stimming in the classroom that meant space and two breakout spaces were equally important.

Adaptations at Colchester School

Becki said the low humming of the fan, which we may not notice, in a critical moment for a child in crisis, could be what tips them over the edge. So, with the architect Declan Douglas, Principal Architect at Essex County Council, the Lodge was designed to have this completely tuned off.

The outside has also been designed with further space to be made into a designated messy area and mud kitchen in the summer.

Becki said: “I was really mindful that the children I have at the minute, their parents cannot take them to parks safely.

“There’s very few parks and outdoor areas they can access”

This includes safe equipment and the fact many of the children would run away without an enclosed space.

When asked about the significance of the increased provision, Becki added: “I am so passionate about this, it’s unbelievable, but I do want more.

“This needs to be happening elsewhere. We are doing an amazing job, I’m incredibly proud, but we are one tiny little plaster over a really big gaping wound that needs fixing.

Source: https://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/25847410.colchester-teacher-creates-custom-send-building-council/

Image: Newsquest