On April 12 and 13, 2023, a team of 25 employees from Securitas Technology will be tasked with planning and developing the outside space at The Walnuts School, Milton Keynes to provide the children and young people there with a new sensory playground.
It is a collaborative project between Securitas Technology, Fusion Initiatives and children’s charity, Wooden Spoon, the children’s charity of rugby.
The school, which supports children and young people between the ages of 4 to 19, with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or a Social Communication difficulty, is just 9 miles from Securitas’ UK head office in Wavendon, Milton Keynes.
Transforming the grounds at the school is set to make a huge difference to the 180 students in attendance there, as Head of School, Lisa Munro explains: “The children and young people at our Hazeley site will be overjoyed to have the playground developed. This has been raised by our young people in surveys and the school council, but our budget has not been in a position to do these works. For a school for young people with Autism, access to outdoor areas is vital. This will help young people regulate their emotions, learn to interact with each other and have fun, improving their educational experience. We’d like to thank all involved at Securitas Technology for making this happen and making a difference to our students' learning experience.”
The project will take place over two days and will be overseen by a team from Fusion Initiatives, which works with businesses, charities and academic institutions to provide leadership and development, high performance coaching and team building with a focus on corporate social responsibility.
Several of the Fusion team have military backgrounds and will use their experience of strategising, discipline and operational delivery to guide the project to a timely and successful completion.
Supporting veterans is a passion shared by Securitas, who themselves have many ex-military personnel within their workforce. They have also demonstrated their support for the armed forces community through actions such as signing the Armed Forces Covenant and recently fundraising to give use of a vehicle to a homeless veteran who had served in the army for 16 years.
Representatives from official charity sponsor, Wooden Spoon will also be involved in the build, as a longstanding charity partner of Securitas in the UK. With a national footprint, Wooden Spoon is the children’s charity of rugby, funding life-changing projects across the UK and Ireland to support vulnerable children and young people.
Commenting on the charitable joint venture, Securitas COO for Central Europe, Shaun Kennedy said: “There are so many positives to undertaking this project and they all centre around people, who are at the heart of what we do at work and in our wider communities. The end result will impact the lives of many children for years to come and in the process of its creation, those of the people taking part, who will get to experience something really quite special.”
CEO of Fusion Initiatives, James O’Malley explained: “This will be an unforgettable experience for the Securitas Technology employees taking part. Firstly, they will meet the school and learn what the project will mean to them. Then, in teams, they will be tasked with planning and delivering the project from start to finish. We’re really looking forward to seeing how they work together to bring the playground to life.”
Sarah Webb, Wooden Spoon CEO added: “We are hugely grateful to our corporate supporter Securitas Technology, whose donation has made it possible for Wooden Spoon to provide funding to build a sensory outdoor space for children with additional needs at The Walnuts School. This build is set to be a very rewarding and unique experience for the team at Securitas Technology as they bring the sensory outdoor space to life and can see first-hand the difference they are making to the lives of the children.”
About Securitas Technology
Securitas Technology, part of Securitas, is a world-leading provider of integrated security solutions that protect, connect and optimise businesses of all types and sizes. More than 13,000 colleagues in 40 countries are focused daily on our purpose to help make your world a safer place and our commitment to deliver an unparalleled client experience. With clients at the heart of all we do, our people, knowledge and technology power our connected ecosystem of health, safety and security solutions and services. To learn more, visit www.securitastechnology.co.uk.
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