A TEESSIDE charity's £40,000 project brings new immersive sensory room to school to help pupils with special educational needs to learn and interact with others and the world around them like never before.

Thanks to the Teesside Family Foundation's project, Kirkleatham Hall School's has seen a transformation to one of its "unloved" rooms to bring an immersive sensory room.

Once the school has reopened after lockdown, up to 150 children a day will be able to use the facility.

Claire Learman, chairperson of the trustees of Friends of Kirkleatham Hall School, whose eight-year old daughter attends said: "The support we have had from Teesside Family Foundation has been over and above what we could ever have expected.

"We knew we needed external support to transform the old sound and light room and had developed a brochure to send out to businesses we hoped would support us, but we had no clue that Teesside Family Foundation were going to offer to fund the whole project.

“With the Covid situation, there is no way we would have completed this on our own so we are truly grateful.”

She added, through tears of joy: “It’s beyond what I thought it was going to be – it’s just absolutely amazing.”

The room should benefit children with profound learning difficulties who may struggle with mobility and sensory issues.

Lindsey Watson, finance officer for Kirkleatham Hall School, said: "Our original brief when we set out to try and envisage what we wanted was that the children could go in there and be immersed.

"They could feel like they are in the atmosphere amongst the stars or they could be in a forest with leaves falling down around them that they could kick out at and interact with other children by playing amongst them together.

“Over time, we can now achieve that with the equipment that we’ve got in there.”