Investment in Sensory Rooms

The Trust has received a number of applications in the recent years from schools in the inner city seeking support to fund the development of Sensory spaces for children with special educational needs. A sensory space is a designated area within a school which supports a child’s ability to manage stress and regulate disruptive behaviour, so that they can be better able to learn and interact with others.

Research carried out by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE booklet 2021), establishes the importance of such facilities, illustrating that children who have difficulty processing sensory information, often have trouble completing simple school and home based tasks. A sensory space enables children to engage and access the school curriculum more effectively and achieve better academic outcomes.

While the cost of these facilities is expensive, the Trust identified this educational need as a pressing requirement within inner city schools. The Trust has supported eight such projects for schools in the inner city, with grants ranging from €5-9k; in aggregate approx. €50k.

One such example is St. Josephs, Co-ed primary school in East Wall, which educates 246 students in the 4-12 age range. The cost of providing the sensory room in this case was €6,500, of which the School raised €1,500 and the Trust funded the balance.