Students already thriving at new Easebourne SEND school
Just two weeks after Conifers House School opened its doors for the first time, its new pupils are already beginning to flourish. The sounds of laughter and play drift along Egmont Road, Easebourne at breaktime as students get to know each other and their new surroundings.
The school building has been remodelled and refurbished to meet the needs of its children, all of whom have a wide range of needs, from autism spectrum conditions, speech and language difficulties to low self-esteem and anxiety. Sensory rooms with soft squishmallow teddies and LEGO provide comforting spaces for pupils to recharge, whilst classrooms are clutter-free and calm. Even the hallway ceiling is fitted with specialised lighting panels that mimic daylight and are designed to boost mood.
Small class sizes – a maximum of eight – each with a teacher and three support staff, mean children are given personalised care. Headteacher Catherine Miller explained: “The small class sizes allow us to get to really know our children and understand their needs and the way they learn”.
She said many of the children who started in February had been so-called ‘school refusers’, who found the demands of mainstream education too overwhelming. Some of them had not set foot in school in over a year. However, two days into life at Conifers House, they were saying goodbye to their parents without a backwards glance and asking to extend their school hours.
The school’s executive deadteacher, Georgios Chatzakis, said happiness is the key to education: “If a child wakes up happy in the morning and wants to go to school, then something is working very well. The goal is also to eliminate the meltdowns at the end of the day at home.”
Although the school educates children aged five to 16, the pupils are grouped, within key stages, by cognitive ability. This means, Mrs Miller explained, the pressure they may have felt in mainstream school to keep up with their peers is reduced, and they can learn in a way which suits them better.
The school offers three curriculum pathways designed to meet children where they are, from those taking their first steps in structured education, including pupils who are non-verbal or pre-verbal, to those ready for more academic learning.
It is a blueprint that the team has taken from another specialist institution, Oakland School in Hungerford. Both schools are owned by Sir Peter Birkett and Dr Julie Smith. The former is an educator and entrepreneur who also founded Highgate Hill House School, a special needs school in Devon.
In a statement, he said: “We have responded to the needs of the local community for SEND education by investing in the establishment of Conifers House School. Our goal is to provide the best facilities and working environment for our pupils and staff. Our brand-new staff team, who possess decades of SEN teaching and support experience between them, are ready and excited to start making a positive difference to the lives of our pupils, their families and carers.”
The school is independent but funded by the local authority. All their children have ECHPs, and the school is working with West Sussex County Council on admissions.
Just a fortnight after opening, there are already over 30 pupils, mainly from the Midhurst area. However, the school has capacity for more, and there are classrooms ready and waiting to welcome new pupils throughout the year.
For parents who want to look around, the next Conifers House School open day is on March 16, and booking via the school website is essential.