UKS2 Project Spotlight: Sensory Architects

Design for comfort, create for calm.

What if your child could design a space that feels just right for them — a place where sound, light, colour, and texture come together to support comfort, focus, and wellbeing?
That’s exactly what they’ll do in Sensory Architects, an eight-week nuro co project created for imaginative home-educated learners who experience the world in rich sensory detail.

What It’s All About

Sensory Architects invites learners to think like designers — exploring how spaces affect how we feel, focus, and move.
Through observation, reflection, and creative making, they’ll discover how lighting shapes mood, how texture changes comfort, and how thoughtful layouts can help different people feel at ease.

Throughout the project, children keep a Designer’s Journal and Sensory Diary, learning to recognise what supports their calm and creativity. They’ll experiment with design ideas using sketches, models, or digital builds — from cardboard mock-ups to Minecraft creations — all while developing confidence in expressing their own sensory needs.

It’s a flexible, neuro-affirming project that values curiosity over perfection and process over polish. Every child’s sensory space will look different — and that’s exactly the point.

What They’ll Do

Across eight weeks, your learner will:

• Explore how sound, light, colour, and texture influence comfort and mood

• Record sensory observations and reflections in their journal

• Investigate materials, patterns, and design choices that support wellbeing

• Create layouts and models for calm, movement, or focus zones

• Experiment with lighting and texture to change how spaces feel

• Build and refine a model or digital version of their own sensory space

• Present their final design through a video, slideshow, or home exhibition

The journey moves from noticing and exploring to planning, creating, testing, and sharing — just like a real design process.

What They’ll Learn

While designing their sensory space, learners naturally cover skills across the curriculum, including:

• English: descriptive language, reflection, and presentation

• Science: exploring materials, light, and sound

• Mathematics: measurement, proportion, and spatial reasoning

• Art and Design: creative planning, colour theory, and model making

• PSHE: self-awareness, wellbeing, and inclusion

Each activity builds understanding step by step while leaving plenty of room for imagination and individuality.

Why Families Love It

• Neuro-affirming approach: celebrates every child’s unique sensory profile

• Hands-on and flexible: children can design, build, write, draw, or create digitally

• Meaningful outcomes: connects design thinking with self-knowledge and confidence

• Inclusive mindset: encourages empathy and accessible design for all

Sensory Architects helps learners see design not just as decoration — but as a way to make life feel better for themselves and others.

Explore. Design. Reflect.

By the end of the project, your child will have designed more than a space — they’ll have gained a deeper understanding of what helps them feel calm, comfortable, and capable.
From cosy corners to creative studios, their sensory space becomes a celebration of who they are and how they experience the world.

Discover the full project at Sensory Architects.