Life Skills Group with SensationALL

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After the success of our first Life Skills Group, the second programme is due to start on Tuesday, 21st August. This 8-week session runs on a Tuesday from 1pm to 2.30pm in the Old Schoolhouse, Westhill from 21st August until the 09th October.

Having life skills is an essential part of being able to meet the challenges of everyday life and be as independent as possible. For many individuals, both adults and children with MSN, it can be difficult to manage activities of daily living and they may need tasks to be adapted or require assistance to participate.

The SensationALL Life Skills Group is aimed at individuals who have been identified as having a need and / or the potential to develop their daily independence skills, like making a cup of tea, doing dishes, creating an art project or gardening. The programme and its activities have been designed by Occupational Therapists and the chosen activity will be identified, graded and developed giving each individual more independence, confidence and self-esteem.

What the carers had to say:

“…she has looked forward to every session.”

” …giving them a sense of achievement.”

“…developed new responsibilities.”

“…learning how quickly someone with additional needs can learn so much and progress so quickly.”

What the team volunteers had to say:

“…seen an increased confidence in the service users.”

“…enjoyed watching them go from strength to strength.”

“…I have learned patience and empathy.”

Eligibility to join the SensationALL Life Skills Group includes the ability to understand instruction (verbal, written or visuals) and a basic skill level in chosen activity and interest in certain life skills activities.

Limited spaces left for this small group, please contact info@sensationall.co.uk or telephone 01224 746699 to book your place. #SensationALL

SensationALL welcome new faces to the team

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More than halfway through the year and our SensationALL team have been busier than ever ! As well as being the gold charity sponsors at Run Balmoral in April, supporting our runners in the Baker 10k in May and being the charity partners for the Westhill 10k in June; we also had a stall at the Westhill Gala, Aberdeen Highland Games and the Westhill 10k. We have hosted our annual Tipsy Tea Party, ran a very successful April holiday events programme, launched our summer events programme and opened our newly refurbished and super fancy sensory room! To add to that list we have had Subsea 7 and M&S Westhill in the Old Schoolhouse giving the walls, garden and rooms a much needed make over.

As we approach the summer months and our school holiday programme of events, we are also delighted to welcome some new faces to the team! Gemma Ross joined the Services team as Services Practitioner, alongside Rebekah Moorhouse as Support Worker and Lisa Grainger as Volunteer Co-ordinator.

Talking about the new team members and the work SensationALL is doing at the moment, Suz Strachan, Team Lead, says: “We continue to adapt and make great developments in widening our team and our services. Building our team will help to strengthen our efforts going forward and give us a wider skill set to support our families living with children and adults with support needs.” 

APACHE OPEN STATE-OF-THE-ART SENSORY ROOM IN SENSATIONALL

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On the back of the Apache North Sea Limited donation to SensationALL, the local charity has reopened the newly refurbished Sensory Room!

As part of Apache’s Corporate Outreach Programme, the Kingswells-based company awarded the charity £30,000 and the donation went towards the renovation and repurposing of the Sensory room, transforming the old Sensory room into a state-of-art interactive space, with a higher specification and bespoke design around the user-needs.

The room was closed for almost a two week period whilst the redevelopment project was underway.

Suz Strachan, SensationALL Operational Team Lead, talks us through the transition of the Sensory Room and what the donation and new space means to the users : “we’ve managed for a number of years with second hand goods and a makeshift set up, starting off by revamping a cleaning cupboard in rented premises in 2012!”

Suz continues: “We now have more opportunities for users to control their environment; to use switches, self generating noise and Bluetooth technology to do so. We use this in combination with low tech resources and utilise the environment to engage in learning, offer choices and use an intensive interactive approach to promote optimal communication with all our users. The upgrading of our room brings us one step closer to achieving an inclusive flagship facility, with a community focus and reflects the specialist sensory based services that we provide.”

SensationALL evolved from the closure of the Raeden Centre (a facility for children with complex needs in Aberdeen) in the Summer of 2011 and the team originally rented facilities in Lawsondale where they ran family support sessions and hosted play sessions in the soft play centre; they became a registered Scottish charity in 2012.

In 2016, the team acquired the Old School and Schoolhouse building to transform into a purpose-built facility for the provision of specialist services and therapeutic activities for MSN users, as well as community facilities, including an out of school club and rooms available to community groups and local businesses.

The donation from Apache has enabled SensationALL to widen the benefits of use to more of their service users and takes the charity one step closer to their dream.

Patricia Paterson, Executive Assistant at Apache, opened the new Sensory Room and said: “I am absolutely delighted with the transformation of the old sensory room into a state of the interactive multi-purpose room!  Apache are privileged to have been able to make a difference in improving the lives of children and adults with disabilities”

You can view the clip of the Sensory Room renovation project here! #SensationALL

Sensory Playgroup Round Up

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Our first Sensory Playgroup of 2018 is done and dusted! This is a relatively new group for SensationALL and ran once towards the end of 2017. This session ran on Thursday mornings for a 4-week block and was fully booked within weeks of being announced! The next session for term 1 starts on 01st March and runs on a Thursday from 1pm – 2pm (01 March to 22nd March).

The Sensory Playgroup is held in the Old Schoolhouse and run by experienced practitioners. Each week is themed and the group spend time in our soft play room and the sensory room too.

In this recent block we followed four themes:

  1. Transport
  2. Farm Yard
  3. Monsters
  4. Rainbow

Each week we had different sensory trays exploring textures, smells and surfaces that related to the theme. We also had a sensory story for each theme and ended the sessions with a period of relaxation for the children, this usually took place in our Sensory Room or the soft play room.

Here’s what some of the parents and carers had to say about out recent Sensory Playgroup:                                                                                                                                                                                                          

“…I feel that as they [SensationALL service practitioners] use Makaton it helps enforce using it and it’s the only group we’ve been to that uses it.”

“…I don’t feel like my child is the ‘odd’ one out at this group, it’s more inclusive and not judging.”

“It’s a chance to meet other parents.”

“…useful to guide and play with him at home.”

“The ideas and knowledge of the staff are great strengths of the group.”

“The group is very relaxed and accepting. Positive and progressive approach for the child.”

We had amazing feedback from our parents and carers and the children enjoyed exploring the different sensory experiences available to them. We can’t wait to start the next block!  

To sign up for the next block of Sensory Playgroup (01 March to 22 March from 1pm to 2pm), please email info@sensationall.org.uk or telephone 01224 746699 #SensationALL

What is Sensory Playgroup?

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The SensationALL Sensory Playgroup programme is a 4-week block and we are about to start our second round on 18th January (18th January to 08th February) This 1-hour session runs from 10am to 11am and is for pre-school aged children with or without identified sensory issues.

This is a semi-structured group that aims to assist children use their senses to explore and make sense of the world around them. The sessions are run by Service Practitioners, Mhairi and Ellie who explain: “Sensory play is crucial to brain development, helping to build nerve connections in the brain’s pathways to learn more complex learning tasks, language development, gross motor skills, social interaction and problem-solving skills”.

The sessions, led by Mhairi and Ellie, will have different themed activities which are self-led by each child and encourage touching, tasting, smelling, seeing, moving and hearing.

Here’s what some of the parents from our last Sensory Playgroup programme had to say:

“…excellent ideas and a safe place to try them.”

“…the professional support and knowledge is excellent and makes you feel welcome and relaxed.”

“…it is very specific to our needs as a family and feels unique to us.”

“…it is great fun and a happy atmosphere; everyone is great and very helpful.”

“…good ideas I wouldn’t have thought of and given ideas to try at home.”

“…there are no other groups like this.”

“…definitely worth going, I have already told other parents!”

“…it’s in a bright and friendly environment with carers who take notice of the children and are willing to help at any stage.”

Email info@sensationall.org.uk for more information on the Sensory Playgroup and to join the group.

  1. Thursday morning block (18th January to 08th February) 10am to 11am
  2. Thursday afternoon block  (01st March to 22nd March) 1pm to 2pm

DIY sensory play activities

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After a busy few months in the SensationALL Old Schoolhouse, including the summer and October holiday programmes and our new group, Sensory Playgroup; the services team have put together a collection of some of our most successful sensory play ideas. How do we measure the success of our sensory play ideas? By the feedback and experience on the day of the children with additional and multiple support needs and their parents and or carers who are on site!  

Play is an important way for children to spend their time, not only is it fun, but it gives the child(ren) plenty of opportunities to learn-through-play about the world around them. Children start off by exploring the world through their senses – enjoying how things look, feel and even taste. Sensory play is a way for children to explore all of their senses and build up a tolerance for different sensory experiences and the environment around them; it also helps support language and communication development, social interaction, problem solving and fine and gross motor skills.

Children who have multiple support needs (MSN) may have more specific difficulties with some sensory sensations and this can sometimes result in challenging reactions. Children with multiple sensory needs require more tailored learning experiences, like sensory play activities, to help them makes sense of these experiences and build up tolerances to different sensory stimulation.

Sensory play is not only about touch but also taste, smell and colour; here’s some DIY sensory play activities that the services team at SensationALL used recently that utilise all the senses.

  A rainbow rice tray, we used this play activity for a weather-themed session at our Sensory playgroup. You will need:

  • 1kg uncooked rice
  • Food colouring (yellow, green, blue and pink)
  • Zip lock bags

Method: separate your rice evenly into four zip lock bags, then add the different food colourings to each bag of rice. Add about a teaspoon of colouring to each bag to begin with and mix together with a spoon. Add more food colouring accordingingly. Once evenly coated you should be left with four different coloured bags of rice. Leave these to dry overnight with the zip lock open. Your rice should be dry the next day and ready to assemble into your sensory rainbow rice tray! Arrange the rice into four sections, with the separate colours, then watch them all mix together as they are played with.

The Under-the-Sea Jelly Tray was used during one of our themed-weeks during our recent Sensory playgroup programme. You will need:

  • 4 packs of gelatin (each pack should have 4 gelatin leaves in it)
  • Blue food colouring
  • Assorted ‘under-the-sea’ themed toys

Method: According to the packet instructions, separate your gelatin into individual leaves and add boiling water to it. The ratio should be around 1 pint of water to 1 leaf of gelatin. Do this individually for each leaf of gelatin, stirring the gelatin into the water until it dissolves completely, then add each pint of water/gelatin mix into your tray. Once your tray is three quarters of the way full, add a few drops of the blue food colouring to the water/gelatin mix and mix in until you get the desired shade of blue. Next you can add your ‘under-the-sea’ themed toys to the tray, positioning some of them so they stick out a bit of the water/gelatin mix. We used some sea animal bath toys, penguin toys and boats for our tray but you can use anything that you think may be a good addition! Leave the tray on a level surface or in your fridge to set overnight and by the next day the jelly will have set and the Under-the-Sea jelly tray will be ready to use!

The Sensory Ice Tray was used during one of our Sensory playgroup sessions and we put the coloured and flavoured ice cubes into a water tray to allow the children to safely explore touch, taste and temperature. The ice cubes can also be used to “paint” onto paper, for a fun sensory drawing activity. You will need:

  • Four ice cube trays
  • Food colouring (red, green, yellow and blue)
  • Teabags (Red Berry, Peppermint and Lemon and Ginger)

Method: Brew three mugs of tea, one with a red berry tea bag, one with a peppermint tea bag and one with a lemon and ginger tea bag. Leave the tea bags to brew for around 10 minutes, then remove the tea bags and add a couple drops of the corresponding food colouring to the individual mugs (red for the red berry, green for peppermint and yellow for lemon and ginger) until you get a strong colour for each one. Take three of your ice cube trays and fill them up with the tea you have brewed. For the fourth tray, add a few drops of blue food colouring to a mug of cold water then stir so the food colouring is evenly distributed and pour the blue liquid into the fourth ice cube tray (this tray will be unscented to allow children that are more sensitive to smell to still have an enjoyable sensory experience). Put all four ice cube trays into the freezer overnight then take them out the next day ready to use.

The next SensationALL sensory play group session will start in 2018, as well as our Chill-OOT programme and Early Communications Group. Email info@sensationall.org.uk for more information about these or any of our other groups and workshops. #SensationALL

SensationALL & Schools Out! inclusive partnerships

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This year we are celebrating our fifth birthday! We have achieved so much since we registered our charity back in 2012, now employing six staff and working towards the Community Asset Transfer of the Old Schoolhouse in Westhill too. In 2017, SensationALL have also set-up an associated social enterprise business, Schools Out! Club, to provide a much needed out of school care provision in Westhill.

It’s early days for this start-up organisation, nicknamed SOC Westhill; and numbers are on the rise as more families in the area become aware of it’s existence. The Schools Out! club has access to two multi-purpose activity rooms, a small soft play area, outdoor play space and a wide range of resources; just some of the benefits of operating from the same Old Schoolhouse facility as the associated charity.

From this partnership, a joint monthly after-school social group has developed, including children with and without support needs. Children who already attend the Schools Out! club have the option to join the SensationALL Social Group, which runs the first Wednesday of every month between 4.30pm and 6pm. This Inclusive Social Group is for primary-school aged children and their siblings; and is a safe environment perfect for building friendships, learning new skills and having fun.  

Diane Forbes, the manager of Schools Out! club says: “the joint group provides opportunities for more peer contact, a wider range of activities, socialising and fun!”.

Suz Strachan, Operational and Service Lead for SensationALL, tells us that the monthly Social Group “completely reflects the inclusive ethos of SensationALL and all that we are trying to achieve and promote in the local Westhill community”.

Suz continues: “We offer our service users a safe environment to enjoy themselves and more importantly, to be themselves whilst benefitting from specialist support from the staff to optimise valuable opportunities to socialise with peers.”

The Social Group is a drop-off and drop-in session on the first Wednesday of every month in the Old Schoolhouse, Westhill between 4.30pm and 6pm. The group is for primary school aged children and their siblings, and is £4 / person including snacks and refreshments. Contact SensationALL to book your space at info@sensationall.org.uk.

The Schools Out! Club is open for children from Elrick and Westhill Primary school and is a before and after-school’s club. Contact Diane directly for more information socwesthill@gmail.com. #SensationALL #SOCWesthill

New key appointments for SensationALL

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Aberdeen charity SensationALL has recently added two key players to their team. Michael Goodlad, in the newly created role of Charity Development Manager and Ellie Turner as a Support Worker in the Services team.

Bob McCracken, chairman of SensationALL, told us “Michael and Ellie’s appointments is another exciting step towards achieving our goal of creating a first class community asset in Westhill. We are very grateful to The Tudor Trust and Aberdeen Charitable Foundation whose contributions have made the new Charity Development Manager role possible.”

In this role Michael will be responsible for driving forward the charity’s ambitious plans to create a vibrant community centre for the provision of services to people with disabilities, their families and carers, and address the need for enhanced indoor and outdoor play and recreational facilities. Ellie’s appointment significantly strengthens the charity’s capabilities to delivery the quality services they have become known for.

Michael hails from Shetland and maintains close contact with the islands. He has had a successful and varied business career including six years as Head of Finance and Support Services with Cornerstone Community Care in Aberdeen. He is a non-executive director of Instant Neighbour Charity, Aberdeen and a former non-executive director of Aberdeen Harbour Board.

Ellie first visited SensationALL in 2015 to photograph the sensory room for her final collection of work at Gray’s School of Art. Her brother has Autism and Ellie helped care for him from a young age, she has worked as a support worker for over two years and her work with textiles looks at the unique relationship people with Autism have with their environment, particularly on sensory stimulation.

Michael Goodlad says, “I am delighted to join SensationALL and to be able to contribute to their ambitious plans. I am impressed with how much they have achieved in the last five years and can already appreciate the dedication and vision of the existing staff, directors and volunteers.”