New Bridge School to start work on new sensory garden after sponsored walk raises more than £1,000

Pictured are the Ryder and Dutton team outside the school during their sponsored walk

New Bridge School in Hollinwood has received a charitable donation of more than £1,000 as a local estate agent completed a sponsored walk to raise vital funds for a new sensory garden in the secondary special school grounds.

The 20-strong team from Ryder and Dutton set off on the 10 mile walk, starting at New Bridge School and visiting branches at Chadderton, Oldham, Royton, and Shaw, before finishing at their head office in Salmon Fields Business Village in Royton.

Speaking about the fundraiser, Emma Brooks, Branch Support Manager at Ryder and Dutton, said: “We heard about the school’s vision for a sensory garden and immediately wanted to help.

"New Bridge has such a wonderful school community and does so much to improve the lives of its pupils and their families, and we just knew how much a sensory garden would add to the school.

"We’re delighted to be able to hand over some money that will help get this dream off the ground, and we’re now looking forward to donating our time to help create the garden.”

The sensory garden will provide a space for the school’s pupils, who all have special educational needs, to participate in a range of therapeutic activities and sessions that will support them with managing stress, anxieties and mental health issues in an outside space, as well as being a place of solitude and reflection and celebration of life.

The new facility will be developed across a 170m2 space, incorporating different sensory features such as jumping jets, a metal water feature, an interactive storyboard, a rain wheel and wind chimes, and a pergola with coloured roof panels.

Alison Toothill, Headteacher at New Bridge School, added: “On behalf of the school, we would like to thank Ryder and Dutton for their fantastic fundraising efforts.

"The school needs a sensory garden, for our children and young people who need a calm, outdoor area, with ramp access, but we will also use this area to create an installation for the children whom we have lost, giving us a place to remember them and celebrate their life.”

New Bridge School was established in 2004, and is a 300 place state-of-the-art secondary special school, developed specifically to meet the needs of statemented pupils and students from the age of 11 up to 19 years.

To donate to New Bridge School’s sensory garden fundraiser, please click here

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