Students volunteer to create new sensory room at their school

With help from home improvement retailer Wickes, a total of 27 youngsters from the school volunteered to work on the room through the social enterprise, Volunteer It Yourself (VIY).

The Wickes store in Worksop donated all the tools and materials required and also covered the cost of professional tradespeople, who acted as mentors.

The work carried out by the students included painting, decorating and transforming an empty room at the Burns Lane school in Warsop into a bright and welcoming sensory space where fellow pupils can enjoy their learning.

Katherine Knight, associate school leader at Meden, said: “This is the second VIY project our school has been involved in, and it was fantastic to see so many of our students volunteering to take part.

“The sensory room is a wonderful addition and will benefit many pupils.”

Sajid Mahmood, who was the project’s lead mentor, said: “It was great to be back at Meden School, working on another project and seeing the sensory room brought to life.

“The students worked hard, and we’re really pleased to have been part of a wonderful initiative. It benefited the young volunteers by teaching them new skills which, hopefully, will help them in their futures.”

Meden is a state-funded secondary school that is operated by the Torch Academy Gateway Trust and currently has about 860 students on its books, from year seven through to sixth form.

VIY is a not-for-profit community interest company (CIC) that combines volunteering and DIY by challenging young people, aged 14 to 24, to learn trade and building skills, on the job, by committing to fix community buildings in need of repairs or improvement.