close search

Renovation of the SMILE Outdoor space

Funded on Spacehive 20 October 2021

Impact data and claims within this report are provided by the project creator and have not been independently verified by Spacehive.

Renovation of the SMILE Outdoor space

Renovation of the SMILE Outdoor space

The Association for Rehabilitation of Communication and Oral Skills By The Association for Rehabilitation of Communication and Oral Skills

The SMILE project would like to renovate its outdoor area into a safe all-weather play and development area for children aged between 0-25 years with special education needs and disabilities.

Great Malvern Delivery stage

10
backers
£29,250
raised
funded icon
This project was funded on 20 Oct 2021!

The SMILE project based in Malvern has an outdoor space that needs renovation so it is safe and practical for children with special needs to use. We would like to create an all-weather outdoor play area to enable us to extend SMILE provision for older children and increase (when restrictions are lifted) the number of group and individual sessions we can offer such as evening, weekend, school holidays, and weekend sessions providing respite for families with disabled children. We would like to provide a cafe and develop our sensory and horticultural area too by adding a greenhouse, where the children can plant and grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs. We would hope to be able to open the outdoor space by March 2022. This new outdoor space will provide our children with an improved learning and sensory experience, helping increase communication skills, physical wellbeing, confidence, and social interaction, which all enhance well-being and improve mental health.

What we'll deliver:

  • New Flooring
  • Canopy
  • Play equipment
  • Green house
  • Sensory and horticultural equipment
  • Seating area
  • Ramp

Why it's a great idea:

Our SMILE children and young people have been isolated at home during the pandemic which has been very tough on them and their carers, so an outdoor play environment would provide opportunities for children and young people with learning and physical disabilities to gradually be able to get out outside of their house again in a safe way. This space will provide opportunities to learn and develop in a safe area, improving social interaction, communication, creativity, and imagination. Play equipment will help improve fitness and physical skills including fine motor skills and gross motor skills. Pre-Covid we saw the positive impact outdoor space had on the children we work with and we want to extend this by providing a safe all-weather space offering therapeutic education stimulating the use of skills and improving health and mental well-being as well as physical well-being.

Steps to get it done:

  • Resurfacing work completed
  • All weather canopy erected
  • Play equipment fitted
  • green house and horticulture area put in
  • seating area built
  • Ramp installed

During the pandemic, most of our SMILE clients have been isolating at home, which has been difficult for them and their carers, leading many to struggle with their mental health. Feedback gathered from a recent survey of over 40 of the families we work with, has shown that the pandemic has affected children's confidence, self-esteem, mental health and emotional and physical well-being. As they start to return to SMILE and restrictions lift, an all-weather play area and garden will provide us with the space to work with children, helping them build confidence in their abilities again and improving their self-esteem, self-worth, and mental and physical health.

Location Great Malvern

About the space

Custom Location

Council

Malvern Hills District Council

How will the money be spent?Total £29,168

Resurfacing the floor - £6,847 (23%)
Play Equipment - £6,001 (21%)
Ramp - £5,650 (19%)
Sail Shade - £3,816 (13%)
Seating x 4 tables and benches - £2,611 (9%)
Horticulture, planters x4 - £1,472 (5%)
Greenhouse - £1,158 (4%)
Other - £1,612 (6%)

Costs Breakdown

This shows how money raised for the project will be spent. These costs have been confirmed by the project's Delivery Manager and verified.

23%
Resurfacing the floor
£6,847
21%
Play Equipment
£6,001
19%
Ramp
£5,650
13%
Sail Shade
£3,816
9%
Seating x 4 tables and benches
£2,611
5%
Horticulture, planters x4
£1,472
4%
Greenhouse
£1,158
6%
Other Read More
£1,612
  • Spacehive fees
    £1,191
  • VAT
    £238
  • Transaction Fees
    £183

Total £29,168

Our Volunteer List

We're currently looking for people to offer skills and time to develop our project! Check out the list of what we need below and then use the 'Volunteer' button to the right to get involved.

Want to help?

Do you have stuff or skills to contribute to this project? Use this tool to offer something to the project creator.

Volunteer
{{comment.UserName}} Creator Backer
{{comment.Comment}}
{{comment.Comment}}
{{reply.UserName}} Creator Backer
{{reply.Comment}}
{{reply.Comment}}