Sensory room at St Mark’s, Marks Gate
The sensory room at St Mark’s was launched in September 2024
ST MARK’S, IN THE DIOCESE of Chelmsford, received an award from the Strategic Development Fund (SDF) and equipped an unused ‘small meeting room’ to be used for inclusion of those with special educational needs in the community.
St Mark’s is home to a pre-school and a day centre for young adults with learning needs and physical disabilities, as well as a significant number of children within St Mark’s Church. Many other young people and children in the wider community are also registered or have some form of special educational needs.
This new room created a resource within the community to meet the needs of more people, serving to embody Psalm 139’s recognition that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made, and that in 1 Corinthians 12 we are all part of one body.
Through the sensory room, the preschool has been able to further meet the needs of some of their children and engage with the church in a new way; the day centre has continued to transform the understanding of holistic hospitality; and members of the church with children who use the sensory room can see that everybody has a place of welcome in the church.
The next phase of the project will see installation of more equipment to respond to the needs of those who use the room, as well as engaging and promoting the use of the room with the wider public community. This is one of only a few publicly accessible sensory rooms in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
The hope is that, through this mission opportunity and the work of the Holy Spirit, more spaces will be available for all people in Marks Gate to encounter God.
