The Big Picture - Pool of light

Children explore the LED-litball pool in the new sensory room at Unity Nursery in Blackpool.

The sensory room was developed thanks to a grant from the local authority and designed to be a calming place for the children to play with light, sound and texture.

Staff can set the lights to change every five seconds, and in this picture the lights are set to ‘clear glow’, with the room backlit on lilac. Games in the room can include matching up colours and listening to sounds over the Bluetooth speakers.

The nursery, which is rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, believes in letting children make their own journey at their own pace, so as not to experience ‘sensory overload’. This is particularly important in this nursery because it has a number of autistic children in its care.