To mark World Autism Awareness Day on the 2nd of April, a group of talented students from St Margaret’s School for Girls are taking a meaningful step to support individuals with autism by collaborating with Voluntary Service Aberdeen (VSA) to design and fundraise for a brand-new sensory room at Linn Moor Residential School – a specialist education service offered by the social care charity.
VSA will assist in securing funding for the sensory room by working alongside the students of St Margaret’s. Through integrating the pupils’ creative ideas into the project and helping them bring ideas to life, the Aberdeen charity will partner with the St Margaret’s community to generate the resources needed for the project.
Linn Moor provides specialist education and transitioning care for children and young people living with complex and additional support needs. St Margaret’s students paid a visit to the school where Head of Education at Linn Moor, Rhia O’Kane, gave a comprehensive overview of the sensory room and explained the specific needs of the children.
As part of their visit, the students engaged in discussions about the design and layout of the new sensory room and considered how best to integrate elements that would meet the sensory needs of Linn Moor’s students, drawing inspiration from the school’s current equipment and the preferences of their pupils.
Through their observations and discussions about the sensory room’s new design, the pupils from St Margaret’s hope to be able to contribute ideas that would support Linn Moor in providing a stimulating and nurturing space for their learners.
Rhia O’Kane, Headteacher at Linn Moor Residential, said:
“Working with the students from St Margaret’s School has been an incredibly rewarding experience for everyone involved. This collaboration has not only benefited our students but has also provided a valuable learning opportunity for the girls, fostering greater understanding of communication differences and sensory preferences. Their enthusiasm has been infectious, creating a real buzz of excitement around our new sensory room.
“The girls approached this project with professionalism, working closely with our Occupational Therapist and Speech and Language Therapist to ensure the design truly met the needs of our learners. We are truly grateful for their efforts, which will have a lasting impact on our students.”
Libby Butler, a senior student who took part in the project, said:
“The design group worked together to come up with some initial ideas after the first meeting with the school. Through a series of meetings and video calls we decided on our final themes, colour schemes and which sensory items should be included in the room. My main role in the design process was to create a mock-up of the room in a 3D modelling software so that we could accurately view the scale and which items we could fit in the room.”
Lena Van Niekirk, a senior student who took part in the project, said:
“During our research, we looked at specific sensory items such as sensory swings, hammocks, and projectors. The previous Linn Moor room already had bubble tubes fitted, which the students wanted to keep, so we are making sure to keep them in mind when creating our design. We also wanted to find a way to include a projector as these can be a very useful sensory tool.”
Commenting on how the group decided on the materials, colours and layout of the room to meet the specific needs of the students, Sylvie Muir, a senior student who took part in the project, said:
“We researched in-depth what colours and materials can be beneficial sensory wise. All the designs we came up with have calming colours, appearances and textures integrated throughout to create an overall serene feel in the room.”
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Sophie Moir, a senior student who also took part in the project, said:
“The most rewarding part of this project for me has been the reaction from the staff at Linn Moor so far. It tells me that they are so excited for this sensory room to be built for the young people there.”
St Margaret’s has a long-standing relationship with many local charities and pupils always strive to be active members of the Aberdeen community. In December 2024, contributions to the retiring collection at St Margaret’s Carol Service and the annual Sixth Year Winter Wonderland charity event raised a combined total of £946 which will enable the school to fund a piece of equipment for the sensory room.
