A joyful celebration took place on 11th June when the Deaf Academy officially opened its brand new Learning and Sensory Outdoor Area, created especially for Deaf children and young people with additional needs.
This was brought to life thanks to the vision of our dedicated specialist staff and the extraordinary generosity of supporters of the project who helped raise an impressive £50,000.
The inclusive space at the Exmouth Academy offers a rich sensory environment designed to support communication, emotional regulation, and confidence-building. Featuring vibration‑responsive panels, tactile pathways, interactive water features, an accessible trampoline and calming quiet zones, the outdoor area has been shaped with input from our teachers, therapists and physios to ensure it meets the needs of the Deaf students with additional needs.
At the launch event, families, staff, and the charity’s partners gathered to explore the space and celebrate the collective effort behind it. Students proudly served refreshments from the new wooden ‘café’ and ‘shop’, with 200th anniversary-themed cakes as a nod to our charity’s historic bicentenary year.
Principal and CEO Sylvan Dewing expressed thanks to everyone who contributed: “This outdoor area exists because our community believed in it. Every donation, every fundraiser, every act of support—large or small—has helped create a space where our Deaf young people with additional needs can socialise, learn, relax, exercise and practice real-life skills such as shopping or visiting a café.”
Guests were delighted to directly see the impact of their support. This included the Wooden Spoon children’s charity of rugby, the Exeter Chiefs Foundation, Exmouth Tesco, and Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton Lions Clubs, Thanks were also extended to volunteer staff from HSBC and Kitson Boyce who put their DIY skills to use to help with the installation phase. Students, staff and families were also thanked who raised funds for the project through different sponsored events.
Upon cutting a ribbon to officially open the new area, Head of School Rachel Stevens said: “This amazing new outdoor area is a game-changer for our staff and students, providing a safe and stimulating space for us to deliver the best possible provision for each student. Before, they would be reluctant to go out and use this space as it was fairly empty and unstimulating. Now we struggle to get them back indoors as they love it so much!”
Exmouth-based Splash Projects worked closely with the Deaf Academy to design and install the area, ensuring a bespoke deaf-centred approach. Splash’s CEO Simon Poole said: ‘It was a real privilege to work with the Deaf Academy during their 200th anniversary year. The work they do has touched the whole team at Splash Projects and we were grateful to be able to co-design and create the imaginative Learning and Sensory Outdoor Area with them. Special thanks to our project manager Rich Acca, the Splash team and the corporate volunteers for making it such a special and impactful project.’
To find out more about Splash Projects click here