Health Mentor raises money for sensory garden

Tom Pagett has run a half marathon to raise £952 to equip a sensory garden at Brays SEN School in Sheldon, Birmingham, where he works as a Health Mentor .

Tom, 24 (pictured above right), and his friend, Gareth Champken, ran the Coventry Half Marathon after being inspired by the special-needs children, who painted and decorated their t-shirts with art.

“Our shirts raised awareness and interest during our run, with lots of people asking what it was about,” said Tom. “And it gave the children a chance to be involved.”

When Jaguar Land Rover gave £10,000 to build a sensory garden at the special-needs school, Tom decided to raise the money to stock it with equipment for children who have difficulties accessing outside learning and to motivate deaf and blind pupils through the senses of touch, smell and sound.

“The more able pupils tend to go on trips and I wanted to help those who don’t, so they have somewhere stimulating outside to go to on a daily basis,” Tom added.

Tom has worked for Evolve for two years and Brays is his first school. He runs PE at every level depending on ability.

For some pupils it may mean being able to stretch their muscles and experience different textures and reach for bell balls etc; 57 out of 70 children have progressed up a PE level or more.

As for their half marathon, Tom and Gareth both completed it in an identical time – 2hrs 3mins 41secs. They handed over the money they had raised from it to the school recently before work on the garden began.

Head teacher Caron Davis said: “Having the outdoor space will make a huge difference for the students. Tom is an asset to our team and we are extra grateful for this donation too.”