Longdendale High School Awarded £5,000 from Sheila Coates Foundation Grant

Longdendale High School is delighted to announce that we have been awarded £5,000 in funding from the Sheila Coates Foundation (SCF) - Rapid Impact Fund.

This exciting round of funding, delivered in partnership with the Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER) at the University of Birmingham, focuses on creating indoor safe and sensory spaces in schools and colleges. The aim is to better understand how these environments can improve the lives of autistic young people and drive meaningful, lasting change.

At Longdendale, we are committed to listening to our students and acting on their feedback. Our autistic pupils told us about the barriers they face, and how having a dedicated, calming space could make a real difference to their daily school experience.

With this grant, we will be creating an indoor safe/sensory base within our SEND area. This space will:

·        Provide a calming environment where students can regulate their emotions.

·        Include features such as dimmed lighting and flexible seating to reduce sensory overload.

·        Offer designated times during the day for students to use the space, helping them to re-engage with learning.

·        Reduce conflict by giving pupils a supportive place to retreat and reset.

Our aim is to see a positive impact within six months of the project starting.

Support for autistic young people in mainstream education can differ greatly. SCF’s Rapid Impact Fund addresses this by providing small, targeted awards to deliver quick, practical solutions co-produced with autistic students.

Between 2021 and 2024, the fund supported over 18,000 autistic students across 455 schools and colleges. Remarkably, more than 98% of schools reported improvements within five months of implementing their projects.

This funding was made possible thanks to the hard work and dedication of our SEND team, who led the grant application. We are so thrilled to be part of this impactful initiative and cannot wait to see the difference it will make for our students. At Longdendale High School, we believe every child should have the opportunity to excel, flourish, and succeed - and this new space will help us take another step towards that vision.