We have a sneak peek inside facility before it opens new student facility
A STATE-OF-THE-ART life skills suite will be unveiled today at one of Glasgow’s best-known and historic residential schools for children with additional needs.
The Evening Times was given an exclusive tour of the £55,000 East Park school facilities – which were funded by donations from the surrounding community.
East Park cares for around 20 residents, not including those who return for transitional care after they have turned 18.
The complex needs of the students at East Park are diverse: from wide-ranging Autism Spectrum Disorder, muscular dystrophy to blindness. Many of the children are non-verbal.
Every pupil is unique, with individual care requirements – meaning that one standard level of care isn’t enough.
The £3million cash injection in 2016 has been transformative to East Park and its residents, enabling the construction of four single classrooms where pupils are taught by two members of staff.
The classrooms have created safe, familiar environments where pupils have their scheduled tailored to their abilities.
The first impression one has entering East Park is the importance of colour.
Colour is everywhere – the pupils use it to associate the days, as well as emotions, so it makes sense that their immediate surroundings are vibrant and bright.
Many individual classrooms are fitted with projectors or interactive whiteboards, and all have safe spaces within for pupils if they need time to themselves.
The classrooms enable pupils to develop a sense of independence alongside coping mechanisms to tackle their anxiety.
Using visual indicators, the pupils can see their plans for the day and convey what it is they would like to do, or eat, or which activity they would like to take part in.
There is an emphasis on reflection, and compassion in pupil interactions, particularly from the older pupils.
As many of the children are non-verbal, these two attributes are fundamental to the day to day running of East Park. The individual classrooms opening out onto a communal outdoor area, where pupils of a range of ages played on scooters with each other and their carers.
There are sensory rooms, with mood lights, music and waterfeatures. These are vital for relaxation on anxious days.
East Park is also home to two resident chickens, Moondust and Ginger.
Along the walls are pictures of when the eggs hatched into those two chicks, chronicling the pupils who nurtured their pets into life.
East Park has classrooms which are fitted with kitchens, so pupils – usually older pupils, or those who return for transitional care, a programme called ’Work Mates‘ – learn how to make their lunch and clear dishes in-between activities.
The care that East Park provides helps to facilitate the transition between leaving school and entering the job force for the East Park Alumni.
East Park opened in 1874 and is one of Glasgow’s most historical institutions.
Standing on the same site as ever, the school takes pupils aged five to 18, and is often the last placement that pupils are sent to.
In 2007, East Park received Autism Accredited status, and was one of the few schools in Scotland to do so.
It is also an accredited SQA centre, and in June 2013 was awarded the Scottish Institute for Residential Care Reaching Higher award.
As a charity, East Park receives support from many facets of the local community – Partick Thistle and the University of Strathclyde have