From local insight to European recognition: Sense VR’s journey to the Site Spark Award

Across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, our learning disability services are home to some incredible sensory rooms, calming, creative spaces that can make a real difference for the people who use them. But over time, we kept noticing the same pattern: these beautifully designed rooms weren’t being used nearly as much as anyone expected. The spaces were there, but the people who could benefit most often struggled to access them. Travelling to unfamiliar environments can be overwhelming, and the rooms themselves vary hugely between sites, making it hard to offer a consistent experience.

That simple observation sparked a bigger question: What if the issue isn’t the rooms themselves, but the expectation that people always have to come to them?

That question became the seed of the Sense VR project.

Working in learning disabilities has always been one of the most rewarding parts of our work. So, the idea of bringing a sensory room directly to someone, wherever they are, felt both practical and exciting. If we could recreate the same calming, immersive atmosphere using virtual reality, we could remove key barriers at their source. People wouldn’t need to travel, services wouldn’t be limited by physical space, and the experience could be consistent, portable, and truly person centred.

Once we began exploring the idea, it quickly became clear VR had far more potential than we first imagined. Our Trust had used VR in other areas, but applying it within learning disability services was still an untapped opportunity. And that’s where the collaboration really began to grow. We took the initial concept to our local teams and received exactly the kind of honest, practical feedback we needed. They challenged us to think carefully about real world settings, which reshaped the entire direction of the project.

A major turning point came when we partnered with the University of Southampton. Their expertise, and access to specialist sensory suites, helped us standardise the environments we wanted to recreate in VR. At the same time, we built strong links with learning disability charities and people with lived experience, whose insight ensured that the intervention wasn’t designed for people, but with them.

That network of collaborators has continued to grow, and it’s one of the reasons we were recently nominated for the SCRS European Site Solutions Summit Spark Award, recognition that reflects not just the technology, but the collective effort and innovation behind it. Attending the Summit provided an opportunity to connect with a wider community working toward the same goal. The event brings together research sites, sponsors and teams from across Europe, all focused on strengthening clinical trial delivery and improving participant experience. Being part of conversations focused on patient centred research reinforced that innovations like VR are part of a broader shift toward reducing barriers and creating environments that genuinely support those involved in research. We were boosted by meeting others who share the belief that meaningful change comes from designing studies around the people who participate in them.

To support long term sustainability, we have made the VR environments free and accessible on YouTube VR, allowing any service with a headset to use them. And as VR equipment becomes more widely available in the NHS, this creates a realistic and scalable pathway for the model to grow.

The impact so far has been incredibly encouraging. More people with learning disabilities are taking part in research, offering thoughtful feedback, and shaping future iterations of the work. The project has opened new recruitment routes, strengthened relationships with charities, and given a stronger voice to a group historically underrepresented in research.

And truly, we’re only at the beginning. Our next step is to build larger, more rigorous studies, including a randomised controlled trial, to explore the impact of VR sensory environments on anxiety and wellbeing. In time, we hope this work will contribute to national guidance and offer a meaningful, non medical option for people with learning disabilities.

If early feedback is anything to go by, this project has the potential to transform how sensory support is delivered, making it more accessible, more consistent, and more person centred than ever before.

Find out more about our small grants scheme which helped fund this project here: https://wessexhealthpartners.org.uk/small-grants-scheme