Islington is spending £9.5m on calmer spaces for SEND pupils at 39 schools. Ten have new acoustic panels already. What is being built and where it has opened.

Islington Council is spending £9.5 million on quieter, calmer spaces for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) at 39 schools in the borough. The work is meant to help more of those children learn in mainstream schools.

The council set out the programme in a press release on 4 November. One of the first projects is already finished: acoustic work in 10 schools to cut noise in dining halls and classrooms.

What the money pays for

The council says schools are getting:

  • acoustic treatment to reduce noise and sensory overload
  • sensory rooms and quiet spaces
  • movement rooms
  • sensory gardens
  • better access to outdoor learning areas
  • wayfinding, to help pupils find their way round the building
  • changes to how rooms are laid out

The money comes mainly from the Department for Education’s High Needs Provision Capital Allocation. Some projects also use Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 money, which developers pay when they build in the borough.

Where it has already opened

The council named three schools. It has not published the full list of 39.

  • Robert Blair School, Brewery Road, N7: the dining hall had acoustic treatment over the summer holidays. Executive headteacher Lisa Horton said it had reduced “sensory and noise overload” and given pupils “a more positive, less institutional lunch experience”.
  • Moreland Primary School, EC1V: new sensory breakout spaces and play areas. Headteacher Catherine Lawrence said they had made “a huge difference” for children who need extra support. A parent told the council that the new terrace had got her son back into school.
  • St John’s Upper Holloway CE Primary School: pupils have been working with architects on plans for a new sensory garden, with calm spaces, wildlife habitats, water and planting.
A covered sensory space at Moreland Primary School, with a rainbow-coloured roof, a hanging egg chair, planters and coloured wall panels
One of the new sensory spaces at Moreland Primary School. Photo: supplied by Islington Council

Why the council is doing it

Most Islington children with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) are taught in mainstream schools, the council said. Busy, loud buildings can be hard for many of them.

Councillor Sheila Chapman, executive member for children, young people and families, said: “Every child deserves to learn in an environment where they feel comfortable, supported and able to succeed.”

Islington is one of 20 councils the government has chosen as SEND Change Partners, helping to shape national reforms, the council said.

What it means for you

  • If your child has SEND and attends an Islington school, ask the school’s SENCo whether it is one of the 39 and what is planned there.
  • The council has not said when the remaining projects will be finished. Nor has it published the full list of schools. We will add it if it does.
  • Islington’s local offer for SEND sets out the support available to families.