Set up a sensory room at an event

For your sports event or activity to be truly inclusive, you should make sure that everyone who is there feels comfortable and has their needs met. Creating a quiet space for children and young people to go to can help make your event more inclusive.

This space can be called ‘sensory room’,  'relaxed area' or just ‘quiet space’, as you prefer. They are designed for people with autism and ASD but can be helpful for a wide range of children and young people.

Why set up a sensory room?

Loud busy sports events or activities can be a stressful environment for children, particularly those who might be neurodivergent. Some people with autism find that loud noise, constant movement around them and large numbers of people can cause sensory overload.

If you can provide a relaxed area or a chillout zone at your activity or event, this could help children and young people to manage the increased sensory load, so that your event is more accessible and inclusive.

You might also find it also appeals to young people who aren’t neurodivergent, those with sensory disorders, social anxiety or who just need somewhere quiet for a period of time.

How do I set up a sensory room?

These are some suggestions about how you could set up a sensory area close to the main event.

• Choose your space – it should be located as part of the activity, so not in a separate building, but can be separated off, for example with a free-standing screen. There should be enough room for people to sit together without being crammed in.
• Provide ear protection, such as noise-cancelling headphones or soft ear plugs, so people can take a sensory break from a noisy event.
• Medium level lighting, if the event is indoors. If necessary, use lamps instead of harsh ceiling lights.
• Set up a mix of comfortable seating, easy chairs and bean bags are ideal
• Provide some quiet activities, for example colouring books and art materials, some books, or board games and objects with different and interesting textures.
• Set up signage to welcome people and explain how to use the space, making it really clear to people who might struggle to understand social rules and norms.

We have created a sample poster of sensory room rules – feel free to use it.

Other considerations for a sensory or quiet area

Who is supervising the children and young people using this area? If parents and carers are expected to be with them, then make this clear to them before they enter. If you are providing supervision, then make sure you have enough safeguarding-trained members of staff available to supervise children, and a thorough understanding of their needs. See our guidance on supervision ratios.

For very large events, such as stadiums and tournaments, when lots of people might need access to the quiet space, consider how to manage this:

• capacity limits on the number of people using the area to make sure it doesn’t become too busy that it no longer offers a quiet space
• dividing the space into different 'zones' to meet a range of needs, for example, a free play area, a calm area, a dark space, and a viewing area for the event
• how people will find out about the space and gain access to it
• whether you need reasonable time limits to make sure everyone who needs time in the space can use it
• lending out sensory packs with resources, such as ear plugs, eye masks, fidget spinners and textured objects, to reduce the numbers of people who need the space