n Staff can look after the children, allowing parents to use the facilities at NAC
VISITING JAKE’S SENSORY WORLD
Jake’s Sensory World is open to children with disabilities and their friends and siblings. All ages and abilities are welcome. Parents and carers can visit with their child as part of a pay and play session, or they can book the whole facility for private use or for birthday parties. Prices range from £4.00 for a 90 minute session for under-5s to £5.00 for 12+, with one carer per child going free. The whole centre
“Peter Dowd said he loved the idea
and that he’d been getting feedback from the parent consultation days the council had been holding that this type of facility was urgently needed,” says Hall. “He asked whether we’d be happy to work in partnership with Sefton Council, and how we’d feel about opening as part of the new Netherton Activity Centre, instead of as a stan- dalone centre. As far as we were concerned, that was even better, as it meant it would be an inclusive facility, and families and siblings could use the other facilities on offer at NAC. “We were happy to hand over the
work we’d done up to that point. The council was very impressed, and asked us to come on board and be part of the planning team.” Sefton Council managed to secure capital funding from the government's Aiming High for Disabled Children pro-
ISSUE 2 2012 © cybertrek 2012
can be hired for £60 for 90 minutes for Sefton residents, or £80 for non Sefton residents. Jake’s Sensory World is part of the new Netherton Activity Centre,
which opened in January 2012. As well as the sensory centre, it includes a sports hall, a dance/activity studio, an Active Sefton fit- ness suite, a crèche, meeting rooms, an IT suite, a library, health referral suites, two synthetic turf pitches and grass pitches.
gramme, and space was allocated within NAC for the sensory play facility.
THE DESIGN For the past year, the team has been working constantly on the design of the centre and an independent project manager, Lesley Knight, was brought on board to help with this. From the start Hall and Garrett were adamant that the centre should offer something new in terms of sensory soft play provision.
“Most disabled children have access to a sensory room and soft play room through their schools or nurseries, but these can be quite repetitive," says Hall. "We wanted to create something fully interactive, while still incorpo- rating the old favourites that all the children love, such as the bubble tubes. We added a Fiesta Tube, which is a waterless version of the bub-
ble tube, using colour-changing fibre optics. We also decided to include an interactive wall, so that large images can be projected onto it. This acts as a multi-sensory theatre, and means that we can customise the room.” An Omni-Vista projection system
was used, with a Solar 250 projector. Other features of the centre include a Jellyfish Fountain, with dozens of spar- kling, colour-changing fibre optics; bubble columns; interactive Ladder Lights, with different coloured 'rungs' and masks; a waterbed; aroma diffus- ers and oils; fibre optic curtains; and a ball pool with colour changing floor. Seeing the centre open, says Hall,
was amazing. "It was a dream that became a reality. Our children have always had to fit in and make do. To finally have somewhere that is fully inclusive and tailor made to suit their needs is the best feeling ever.” l
Read Leisure Management online
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