The Calming Room
Driving change in schools
What if STUDENTS had a SAFE space to help them feel calmer and learn better?
What if we CREATED a culture and developed TOOLS that promoted student SELF-ADVOCACY?
What if TEACHERS had access to a non-punitive intervention that could assist student emotional regulation?
What if LEARNING could be maximized because fewer students were disrupted or disruptive?
What if schools could offer a NURTURING ENVIRONMENT
that emphasized students’ strengths so their RESILIENCY could shine?
Design and Development
In 2015, the University of Minnesota Extension CYFC partnered with the University of Minnesota Interior Design program in the College of Design to create a calming room at Bruce Vento Elementary School where students could retreat during difficult moments. Twenty-three design students consulted with Bruce Vento faculty and staff to hear their intentions and ideas for a safe and calming space.
This meeting marked the beginning of an exciting collaboration. Six student design teams developed and presented concepts for the calming room, taking their cues from the images and experiences in nature that convey quiet and stillness.
Over the next several months the design students helped overhaul the space used for calming students — space deemed unsafe and ineffective.
The core elements required in creating a nurturing environment
The University of Minnesota Extension Children, Youth & Family Consortium (CYFC) solution
What if we created a safe space for students to practice skills aimed at regulating their behaviors and emotions when they are having difficulty in the classroom? How can we reinforce the belief that learning is what makes a person feel good?
Design Inspiration
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Creation of the calming room was restricted by the physical space itself and the budget. Because the room lacked direct sunlight, planners placed a priority on creating nature-inspired imagery on the walls.
Bruce Vento staff also hoped to update the carpet. The development team preferred a hard surface that could easily be kept clean. However, the cost of a hard surface exceeded the budget, and the team ultimately chose a new area rug to cover the old carpeting.
The student design team carefully chose objects and furnishings for the new calming room with a focus on simplicity to avoid overstimulation. The furniture that both students and teachers love most is an enormous beanbag chair. Inventive students have created many new and clever ways to use the chair to help them relax and regulate their emotions.
Implementation
Painting the Calming Room
Four cubicles with soft pillows fill one small wall, allowing students crawl space and snug places to feel safe. Cloud ceiling panels to soften the fluorescent lighting, tile floors, and wall murals depicting soothing scenes in nature offer tremendous value in creating and enhancing the space.
The Outcome
In depth interviews and surveys conducted with parents and teachers indicate that the calming room delivered benefits on five levels, including facilitation of students’ emotional regulation and increased focused learning in the classroom.
“The calming room is a great, safe place for kids to go if they are upset, if they need to take their medication, or if we need to assess (health) problems. The kids know it’s safe to go there. Having the space in school has improved student self-advocacy — the children know when they need to visit the room and they do so.”
"The bean bag is wonderful. Students lay on it or even under it. We just let them be in the room (to decompress.) There's less need for physical restraint and they can get back to class faster."
‘The calming room supported [by] trauma training with social workers means teachers can better help students self-regulate.”
“I see a positive behavioral pattern, especially with one child. He’s able to walk in and out on his own, whereas before we had to restrain him. Overall the children are more engaged when they return from the calming room, more so than the students who don’t use the room.”
“The calming room offers a higher tier of intervention. The students go there on their own. The bean bag is brilliant — it can take a beating well.”
“I rely on the calming room to help overcome little struggles with students. It stops things from escalating.”
Day, C., & Midbjer, A. (2007). Environment and children: Passive lessons from the everyday environment. New York: Architectural Press.
The Sensory Connection Program. (2016). Sensory room for adults or adolescents in mental health setting. Retrieved from http://www.sensoryconnectionprogram.com/sensory_room.php
Renwick, F., & Spalding, B. (2002, September). A ‘Quiet Place’ project: An evaluation of early therapeutic intervention within mainstream schools. British Journal of Special Education, 29(3), 144-150.
Blackburn, R. (2010, May 11). Many parents and pros advocating ‘calming rooms’ for schools. Athens Banner Herald. Retrieved from http://onlineathens.com/stories/051110/new_637263838.shtml/#.WgYVwTBry70
Strickland, A., & Hadjiyanni, T. (2013, December). 'My School and Me' – Exploring the intersections of insideness and interior environments. Journal of Interior Design, 38(4), 17-35.
MacDaniel, M., Van Bramer, J., & Hogan, M. F. (n.d.). Comfort rooms: A preventative tool used to reduce the use of restraint and seclusion in facilities that serve individuals with mental illness. Retrieved from http://omh.ny.gov/omh.web/resources/publications/comfort_room
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The Research
Lessons Learned
The development of the calming room was a breakthrough initiative for the CYFC-Bruce Vento partnership. Not surprisingly, some parts of the design and implementation process went exceptionally well, while other parts would have benefited from a different approach. Most of the areas for improvement were related to process management and the need to gain broad-based support early in the development process.
Best Practices
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Creating a Nurturing Learning Environment
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