South Shields’ Epinay School delights pupils with a state-of-the-art immersive room

A brand new immersive room at Epinay School, on Nevinson Avenue, in South Shields, has given pupils a new way to experience learning.

The room features three huge screens, a vibration seat, dynamic lighting, an interactive floor and the ability to introduce sensory aspects such as wind effects and smells.

Pupils can experience what it is like to be under the sea, in the rainforest or just have sensory lights and background music playing.

It is designed to help pupils with sensory issues as well as boosting their knowledge and understanding of subjects on the school’s curriculum.

Chris Rue, the headteacher at Epinay School, has given the Shields Gazette an insight into how the school is using the room to boost the experience of its pupils.

He said: “It is used very differently depending on where the children are in the school and what type of provision they are.

“We got one little boy who comes in every morning before 9am and he uses it by himself to play with the interactive floor with some background sounds on and he loves that.

“Throughout the day our younger children might come in as a group and we’ll do social play and then as we move through the school, it can be used for our specialist subjects like DT or things like maths and English to make the learning more interactive.

“It has really enriched our subjects and the children have loved it.”

Chris also explained what the reaction to the room has been like from both pupils and staff now that it has been in place for a few weeks.

He added: “The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and the children love it.

Stay up to date with the Shields Gazette’s latest headlines and get a newsletter delivered to your inbox

“Now that they have had their few first lessons in the room, they are just talking about it all the time.

“Some of our more sensory seeking children took to it differently so we need to find the exact sensory background input that they need.

“We have been putting sense into the room in terms of wind effects and smells like cut grass or candy floss which has worked with some pupils but not others.

“But I’ve got to say, the staff have really taken to it just as well as the kids have.

“We’re so pleased that we have put this in place and to see what it has done from a regulation of focus point of view for our kids already makes it worth every penny.”