St Barnabas and St Paul’s CofE Primary

St Barnabas and St Paul’s Church of England Primary School Case Study

The Brief:

St Barnabas and St Paul’s C of E Primary School in Blackburn approached Eden Play to help transform an underused seating area into an inspiring sensory garden for their pupils. The school’s vision was to create a calm, multi-sensory environment that supports wellbeing, outdoor learning, and emotional development.

They wanted the space to offer distinct zones that stimulate the senses through touch, smell, sight, and sound, while also providing a peaceful retreat for reflection and mindfulness. The new outdoor learning space needed to be inclusive, accessible, and engaging for children of all ages and abilities, encouraging curiosity, creativity, and connection with nature.

Our approach:

We worked closely with the staff at St Barnabas and St Paul’s C of E Primary School to ensure each sensory zone offered a unique experience while supporting the school’s wider outdoor learning curriculum.

Our collaborative sensory garden design focused on creating an accessible layout where pupils could move seamlessly between areas, each providing a distinct sensory focus. Annotated archways were incorporated to gently guide pupils through the space, encouraging curiosity, discovery, and a sense of journey.

We combined a variety of interactive features, tactile surfaces, and sensory planting to stimulate touch, sight, sound, and smell, helping pupils connect with their environment in meaningful ways.

The result was a calm, inclusive, and welcoming outdoor learning environment that promotes wellbeing and sensory exploration, while offering opportunities for all year groups to learn, reflect, and play in an engaging natural setting.

Before

After

What we delivered:

We transformed the old seating area into a vibrant and interactive sensory garden, designed around four distinct zones using planter archways with annotated signage to introduce the sense being explored. Each zone offers a unique sensory experience, encouraging pupils to engage through touch, sight, smell, and sound.

The “smell” zone features our popular cross planter with integrated seating, allowing pupils to sit among aromatic plants that stimulate relaxation and curiosity.

The “touch” zone incorporates tactile sensory tiles with four different textures to explore and compare, supporting sensory development and fine motor skills.

The “hear” zone was intentionally left for the school to develop further, allowing staff and pupils to explore creative ways of incorporating sound-based sensory play in the future.

In the “see” zone, we installed a bug hotel, a potting shed with a built-in composter, and a see-through planter, enabling children to observe plant growth and local wildlife up close. Additionally, we installed a sensory archway in this area, which includes colourful sensory panels, adding visual excitement and uniting the garden’s design into a cohesive, engaging outdoor learning environment.

The Outcome:

The completed sensory garden has transformed an unused area of the school grounds into a calm, inclusive space that enhances wellbeing and supports the school’s outdoor learning ambitions. Pupils now have a dedicated environment where they can explore, reflect, and engage with nature through a variety of sensory experiences.

Each carefully designed zone encourages curiosity and interaction, helping children develop emotional awareness, fine motor skills, and sensory confidence. The garden has quickly become a much-loved part of daily school life, providing a peaceful retreat for pupils while strengthening St Barnabas and St Paul’s commitment to creating a nurturing, stimulating, and sustainable learning environment that supports sensory exploration and outdoor play.

Extremely pleased

"We are extremely pleased with the result. We would like to thank Matt and his team for the work they did bringing everything to life. They were amazing from start to finish. The whole experience working with Eden Play was a joy from start to finish. The children have loved exploring the different areas and plants. Thank you for our amazing new area."

Jaymi McDonald, St Barnabas and St Paul’s C of E Primary School

View more of our pictures from St Barnabas and St Paul’s Church of England Primary School below…