A special needs school for children with social, emotional and mental health needs has received a £1000 cash boost from North Midlands as part of its Community Champions scheme.

Millgate School supports over 120 students, aged 7-16, with poor mental health and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder and struggle to regulate their emotions.

Persimmon makes £64,000 a month available to fund community initiatives across the UK.

Amy Large, from the school, said: “From everyone at Millgate I’d like to say a massive thank you to Persimmon Homes for choosing us to receive this donation.

“We plan to transform a neglected piece of land on our site to a sensory garden. Currently an empty area of mud, the project will introduce flower beds themed around the five senses and a water walk to feel different textures underfoot.

“Many of our students have sensory processing needs, meaning that they can easily get overwhelmed by what’s going on around them.

“A sensory garden will offer our students a place to go when they are feeling overwhelmed, get in touch with their senses and help them regulate their emotions.

“This project will also create an area for our counsellors to work on outside therapies and will help transform our school by drastically improving the wellbeing of our students.”

Nadine O'Dowd, sales director at Persimmon Homes North Midlands, said: “We’re thrilled to be supporting Millgate School with our Community Champions funding this month.

“I’ve been hearing all about how the staff and students will be completing the landscaping work themselves so the least we could do was lend a helping hand with the donation.

“Amy and the team have already raised over £800 by completing a ‘Moving for Others’ challenge where students collected sponsors and ‘moved’ from Lands End to John O Groats so they’re deserving recipients of this additional £1,000 grant.”