College Virtual Tour

Welcome to the virtual tour of Henshaws Specialist College!

We hope that our virtual tour gallery and videos give you a taster into what it’s like here and if you
have any further questions afterwards our team would be more than happy to help.

We’re so proud of what all our students achieve at Henshaws Specialist College and we’d love to
work with you to achieve your goals.

Virtual Tour Gallery

Here you can have a look round our college facilities by clicking on the images in the gallery below

Welcome to college!

Here you can see the main building of the college as you approach the campus from the road. We're lucky to be surrounded by lots of green space here in Harrogate.

Come in and take a closer look

This is the fully secured main entrance which will take you into our reception area.

Reception

Here’s our reception area, the first place you’ll come to inside College. This is where you would speak with our friendly receptionist Craig who is usually sat behind the front desk.

Heading into college

You'd be met by a staff member in reception who would take you into the main college building.

Getting around

This is one of the corridors that you’ll pass through after you’ve left the main reception. As you can see, the spaces are wide to ensure accessibility. There’s information boards and bespoke signs on the doors, as well as colour coding to help you navigate around.

Fully accessible spaces

Our campus has been designed specifically for students with SEND, with wide spaces that enable full accessibility.

Sensory room

The sensory room at college gives a quiet space for students to explore. The room features soft lighting and comfortable furnishings as well as a fantastic interactive floor that students can engage with.

Art room

Here you can express your creativity. Our art room are packed with materials and resources for students to explore, create and make. We love seeing all your different creations and displaying them in our art gallery.

Art session

Our students have a lot of fun building their creative skills (as do our staff!)

Music room

This is our music room where our students experiment with sound and creativity. Students will have a wide variety of experiences here, tailored to their needs.

Music session

These sessions are really interactive and engaging for our students as they explore sound and movement.

Independence kitchen

Here’s our independence kitchen where you’ll gain cooking skills. There are adjustable work spaces, as well as talking microwaves. We use recipes in lots of different formats including audio, PECs and large print to help you build your independence skills.

Cooking session

Our students love cooking! It's part of the Plan, Shop, Cook, Clean programme here at college which is delivered as part of living skills.

Classrooms

You won't spend all of your time in classrooms, but we do have lots of them here at college. Here’s one in The Starting Point, which is our dedicated low- arousal setting which provides a structural educational pathway for young people who may be diagnosed with autism, or have similar characteristics along with wider additional needs.

Learning

We teach a broad curriculum here at college, which is tailored to suit your needs and can include core subjects such as maths and English.

Learning

PSHE is also one of the areas taught here at college which is a really important tool for students to build upon their social and emotional skills.

Quiet rooms

There are additional quiet rooms, as well as base rooms in the Starting Point, which provide students with the space they need to go at their own pace to develop skills that promote independence along with their personal and social awareness.

Braille room

We have a braille room here at college which enables us to produce resources in braille, just one of the communication tools we use.

Campus grounds

The college is surrounded by green space, and is easy to get around with wide paths that lead from the main college building and around to our media centre, housing and sports centre.

Media centre entrance

Here’s the front door to our media centre which is next to the main college building. It provides our students with a flexible working environment and is home to our IT suite, work centre, commercial print service and recording studios.

IT suite

This is where you will find all the resources you need to access technology in the way which suits you best. You can set the rise and fall desks and touch screen monitors to the height and distance that is comfortable for you. We’ll also help you set up your own devices such as tablets.

Assistive technology

Our Assistive Technology team will work with you and people close to you to identify and respond to your individual needs. We will also set up your own personal devices such as tablets on the College Wifi network.

Recording studio

In our two soundproofed recording studios, you can learn how to record audio, produce podcasts and edit music. Our high quality recording equipment is designed to be fully accessible, with rise and fall desks and a modified mixing desk.

Sports hall

The sports hall is part of our sports and fitness centre. It offers a safe and accessible environment where we will support you to achieve your own exercise goals whilst having fun. We’ll work with you to develop your own targets, whether it is for weight loss, building up your strength, or increasing your range of movement.

Sports hall session

We have lots of different sessions in our sports hall, which are tailored to suit you.

Gym

You'll find our gym in the sports and fitness centre. It has both aerobic and anaerobic equipment. Our gantry hoist systems support students with complex physical disabilities to stand and walk, allowing them to access a wide range of facilities.

Gym session

During your fitness sessions, you'll be supported and encouraged by our team to help you reach your goals (and have fun doing it!)

Swimming pool

You’ll also find our swimming and hydrotherapy pool in the sports and fitness centre. They are both fully accessible through a combination of ramp access and overhead hoists so that as many students as possible can benefit from exercise and therapy sessions.

Swimming session

The swimming pool is a great facility for our students to be able to access without even leaving campus.

Hydrotherapy pool

Changing rooms

Our fully accessible changing rooms have everything you need to prepare for your sport or swimming sessions comfortably and safely.

Rain garden

Here’s our rain garden which can provide a quiet outdoor space during a busy college day. A great outdoor space to relax and enjoy.

Sensory garden

A quiet space to explore and relax in the fresh air.

The Potting Shed

This is where you’ll get the chance to grow and nurture plants. Our students work really hard to grow all sorts of fruits, vegetables, and flowers which they share or sell around the college campus.

The Potting Shed

Poly tunnel

We have two poly tunnels, ready for you to have a go at growing!

Nidd house

Nidd, Ouse and Ribble are our three residential buildings. Living on campus provides opportunities to develop your independent living and social skills. All of our buildings are accessible, with many rooms featuring tracking hoists for students who are essential wheelchair users.

Ouse house