🌻Come As You Are Pop Up Spaces are brand new for Summer 2025 — gentle, neuroaffirming spaces created by and for families who are often excluded from typical settings.🌻
These aren’t activity sessions or drop-in services.
They’re calm, facilitated spaces with sensory toys, loose parts, soft landings and no pressure — just space to be.
✨ These spaces are rooted in the belief that every child and family deserves:
• The right to play
• The right to feel safe
• The right to community
About the Venue
The Collective Garden is a new community green space tucked away off Watermill Lane, within the Preston Road Outdoors site in Sidley.
🌱 It’s part of a wider wellbeing and community project led by the brilliant team at Bexhill Family Collective, who have been incredibly welcoming and supportive in making these sessions possible. We’re so grateful to be working together.
The garden is still in its early stages of development — simple, natural, and peaceful — offering a space where children can explore at their own pace, and families can connect without pressure.
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🚗 Free parking nearby | 🚶 Step-free access via Watermill Lane footpath
What to Expect
🌿 Outdoor sensory play and loose parts
🪑 Space to explore, rest or move freely
🧸 No pressure, no plan — just space to Come As You Are
👋 Friendly volunteers to support and welcome you
🔐 There is a secure 6 foot fence around the garden.
Whether your child is a runner, uses AAC or mobility aids, finds busy spaces difficult, or just needs time to warm up — this is a space designed with you in mind.
Who It’s For
Children who are neurodivergent, disabled or have high support needs — and their families.
Siblings, carers and extended family are all welcome. No referral or diagnosis needed.
Cost
FREE – funded by East Sussex County Council, Short Breaks.
Volunteers Welcome
If you’d like to help — setting up, supporting families, or just being a kind presence — we’d love to hear from you.
🟡 Some roles may need a DBS check (e.g. supporting children directly)
🟡 We can help you with this, or find a role that works for you
🟡 Parents attending with children are always welcome to help informally
Volunteering is flexible, supported, and low-pressure.
🌟 The Magic of These Sessions
The magic of our sessions isn’t in the toys or the setup — it’s in the feeling.
It’s the quiet nod from another parent who understands without needing to ask.
It’s children playing freely, without stares or explanations.
It’s families who so often feel alone, finally together —
in a space made for them, with people who truly get it.
This isn’t just play.
It’s community. It’s connection. It’s safety.
It’s the space to Come As You Are — and be met with warmth.
📩 Questions or access needs? Message this page or email
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🌻Come As You Are — and we’ll meet you there. 🤗
