AN early years special needs nursery in Wirral has said they were "blown away with the generosity" from parents and carers during a fundraising sensory event.
EsSENtial Early Years Nursery is a specialist early years provision, catering for children aged up to five with special needs across Wirral.
This year, the nursery decided to challenge themselves and host their first ever sponsored 'Children in Need' event, in the hopes of raising money for the BBC Children in Need Charity.
The sponsored event was 100 sensory activities within one week to raise £100.
All of the children who attend the setting had the opportunity to engage in a range of sensory activities each day, hosted by the staff and tailored to meet each child’s individual needs; including frozen foam explorations, edible yoghurt painting, personalised sensory circuits, rainbow jelly messy play and 96 more.
The original fundraising target of £100 was met within the first day of the challenge and by the end of the week they had raised £1,600 with the total now standing at £1,750.
Tanya Salisbury, part of the Management Team for the nursery and organiser of the event said: "I have been completely blown away by the level of engagement and generosity towards this event from the parents, carers, families and friends of the children who attend esSENtial Early Years.
"I am so proud to work alongside such a dedicated team of early years SEND practitioners who ensured we met our 100 sensory activity target.
"For such a small provision to raise such a staggering amount of money for the charity is simply a testament to how wonderful and special the families of our children are.
"We are so thankful and appreciative of their continued support and I am thrilled that we have not only been able to offer such a wonderfully unique experience to our amazing children at esSENtial Early Years, but also change the lives of others, who may be in similar situations."
2023 success for the nursery
This year the nursery has also been selected from thousands of nominations to win a Pearson National Teaching Silver Award.
Alongside this, the team has won two NDNA awards for Training and Development and Learning through play: supporting children with speech and language.
Staff at the nursery said: "We are so proud of all of the children and thankful to each and every person who sponsored them for this event.
"We are still a new, relatively small, team so to continue to make such a big impact this year within our local community and further is just amazing."
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