Wooden Spoon supports sensory room at Barking & Dagenham Youth Zone
EssexBarking & Dagenham Youth Zone in Essex has been awarded a £11,800 grant from Wooden Spoon to support its sensory room, helping create a welcoming and inclusive space where children and young people with additional needs can feel comfortable, take part and enjoy the chance to play.
Previously funded by the Eastern Counties region back in 2019, the Youth Zone provides a safe and inspiring place for young people aged 8–19, and up to 25 for those with additional needs, to make friends, try new things and discover their passions. Open throughout the year, the Youth Zone offers a wide range of activities, supported by a dedicated team of youth workers who help young people navigate the challenges they face and build towards a positive future.
A space where everyone can feel included
The sensory room provides a dedicated environment for young people who may need a quieter space away from the busy activities taking place throughout the Youth Zone. It can provide an opportunity to take a break, regulate emotions and feel comfortable before returning to other activities and experiences.
For young people with disabilities or additional needs, having access to an environment that understands and accommodates their individual needs can make all the difference in being able to take part.
Inclusion Youth Worker:
“The sensory room reopened during the summer, and the young people with SEND love all the new sensory stimulation and relaxation equipment, including the wall panels with ball tunnel and sound wall, and the colourful lighting including a twinkling twilight projector. However, the crash pit ball pool is their clear favourite, and Futurebility members love to sit and play in it! The padded walls are also proving to be a valuable safety feature. Young people who become overwhelmed are really benefiting from the room’s reopening, as it provides a quiet space where they can go when they struggle with noise levels and need support to feel calm.”
Creating opportunities through play
This Youth Zone is designed to give young people opportunities to explore their interests, from sport and arts to music, cooking and other activities. Its inclusive sessions also support young people with a wide range of additional needs, including those with learning difficulties, visual impairments and physical disabilities.
The sensory room adds another important layer to this offer, helping ensure that young people who might find busy environments overwhelming have somewhere they can go when they need it.
Wooden Spoon’s support reflects the charity’s commitment to giving children and young people with disabilities or facing disadvantage across the UK and Ireland a chance to play, a chance to learn, a chance to thrive and a chance to be safe.
Through funding projects such as this, Wooden Spoon helps create spaces where children and young people can feel included, supported and able to enjoy experiences that many others may take for granted.
Supporting children and young people across the UK and Ireland
Wooden Spoon is a charitable organisation dedicated to transforming the lives of children and young people with disabilities or facing disadvantage through the power of the rugby community.
From specialist facilities and sensory spaces to outdoor play areas and educational projects, Wooden Spoon funding helps organisations create opportunities for children and young people to develop, have fun and reach their potential.
The £11,800 grant to Barking & Dagenham Youth Zone is another example of how the generosity of the rugby community can help make a lasting difference – giving young people the opportunity to feel included and, most importantly, to enjoy being young.
Get involved
You can help Wooden Spoon fund more projects like this and give children and young people across the UK and Ireland a chance to play.
Donate to Wooden Spoon: https://woodenspoon.givingpage.org/wooden-spoon-donate
Find out more about Wooden Spoon projects: https://woodenspoon.org.uk/where-your-money-goes/
