St John’s School

CHIlDren neeD mOre PHySICal aCTIVITIeS – JOIn ST JOHn’S HerOeS FOr POSITIVe OuTCOmeS

St John’s School in Seaford is a place where children and young people with complex learning difficulties receive a specialist education which helps them to thrive and achieve exceptional outcomes. St John’s focuses on communication, wellbeing, skills, independence and employability, and our approach is to provide tailored education, built around the needs of each young person.

Leo’s mum Lucinda told us, ‘St John’s has changed Leo’s life. He’s gone from the worst he’s ever been to the best he’s ever been since joining St John’s and he just keeps on flourishing, going from strength to strength due to the specialist support from the team who work with him. In fact, he’s so happy he has worn a Mr Happy t-shirt every single day for the last year!’

Like for most charities and the community in general 2020 has been a difficult year for St John’s, but we are working hard to ensure that the young people at our school in Seaford and our college in Brighton are given a safe environment in which to learn, play and develop.

Play is especially important for children with special needs and forms an essential part of the learning environment at St John’s School. No two children are the same in any walk of life, and children with Special Educational Needs face an entire range of different and specific challenges. Unfortunately, its a common theme that many children with SEN do not get the opportunity to play outside anywhere near as much as they should.

Having space to play outside stimulates and encourages children with sensory sensitivities to explore all of their senses. Good play areas develop both gross and fine motor skills. They help children to improve mobility and coordination, the vestibular system (balance) and proprioception (body awareness and spatial skills).

Vestibular and proprioceptive training can be stressful for children who face difficulties with balance, and awareness of body and space.

Offering them a safe environment to climb, balance, move over different levels and surfaces in a fun and playful way, with friends, improves their development without it feeling like a chore.

St John’s is launching a campaign (St John’s Community Heroes) asking local businesses to raise £5,000 to help us purchase special indoor and outdoor play equipment suitable for the children and young people at the school. We are hoping to provide a large wooden pirate ship with climbing, swings and slides for outside play, and a new trampoline and trapeze for indoors.

St John’s Community Heroes will encourage businesses to adopt St John’s as a charity that they will support on a regular basis, and all the funds raised will go directly to the purchase of play equipment for the school in Seaford. Our very first sponsors include Newton Waterproofing and La Maison Mobile BBQ Catering Service.

If you or anyone you know might be interested in supporting the children at St John’s, we are organising a Facebook quiz on 4th December where you can find out more about St John’s Community Heroes and also compete to be the brainiest business in the Seaford. Why not get involved? Contact us on 07912 296407.