A new purpose-built Outclass learning hub at Hampden Street School in Nelson is already making a real difference for students who need a quieter place to reset, regulate and learn.
The hub was recently featured in the Nelson Mail and The Press, highlighting the growing need schools are experiencing for dedicated spaces that support neurodiverse students and children with additional learning needs.
Hampden Street School had seen a significant increase in the number of students requiring additional learning support. Staff were finding it increasingly difficult to provide suitable quiet spaces within busy classrooms and shared school environments.
Learning Support Coordinator Tracy McLaren had previously converted a small resource room into a sensory space for one non-verbal student, using simple additions such as soft furnishings and reduced lighting.
As demand grew, however, the school realised it needed something more.
The answer was a dedicated Outclass hub — a small, purpose-built learning and sensory space positioned within the school grounds, surrounded by the outdoor environment while remaining close to classrooms and play areas.
The hub includes a turfed outdoor area, games and sensory resources, spaces for craft and quiet activities, and areas where students can simply sit, rest and regulate.
Students can use the space during break times as well as during lessons when they need time away from the classroom.
For Principal Don McLean and his team, an important part of the project was recognising that some children need a space to reset rather than being treated as though they are simply being “naughty”.
The new hub provides that opportunity.
Students can step away from the stimulation and demands of the classroom, spend time in an environment designed around their needs, and return when they are feeling settled and ready to engage again.
The school has already seen the benefits.
Students are enjoying activities ranging from giant chess and craft to simply sitting quietly in the space. One student described the new hub as “amazing.”
The Outclass concept was developed after Outdorable founder Kurt Woodman repeatedly heard schools talking about the same challenge: they needed additional spaces for children, but traditional building projects could be expensive, slow and difficult to deliver.
The idea was simple — what if schools could create a small, purpose-built space designed specifically around the needs of their students?
Outclass hubs are designed and built as relocatable learning spaces, allowing schools to add valuable additional capacity without the scale of a conventional classroom building project.
For Hampden Street School, the result is a dedicated environment that feels separate from the classroom while still being very much part of the school.
Hampden Street School’s hub is the first Outclass project in the Nelson region, following installations at schools in Auckland and Whangārei.
Since the Hampden Street project became visible, interest from other schools has grown rapidly, reinforcing what we have been hearing from educators across the country: schools urgently need more flexible spaces to support students with diverse learning, sensory and emotional regulation needs.
For Outclass, the goal is to help make those spaces achievable.
Sometimes a child doesn’t need another classroom.
They just need the right space.
This story was inspired by coverage of the Hampden Street School Outclass hub published by the Nelson Mail and The Press. Photography: Braden Fastier / Nelson Mail.
