Chailey Heritage School
- Chailey Heritage School
Haywards Heath Road
North Chailey
Lewes
East Sussex
BN8 4EF - Head: Simon Yates
- T 01825 724444
- F 01825 723773
- E schooloffice@chs.org.uk
- W www.chf.org.uk/
- A special independent school for pupils aged from 3 to 19 with complex physical disabilities, communication, sensory and learning difficulties
- Boarding: Yes
- Local authority: East Sussex
- Pupils: 90
- Religion: None
- Open days: Please ring the school office to make an appointment
-
Ofsted:
- Latest Overall effectiveness Outstanding 1
- 16-19 study programmes Outstanding 2
- Early years provision Outstanding 2
- Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding 2
- 1 Short inspection 8th May 2019
- 2 Full inspection 21st October 2014
Short inspection reports only give an overall grade; you have to read the report itself to gauge whether the detailed grading from the earlier full inspection still stands.
- Previous Ofsted grade: Outstanding on 29th September 2009
- Ofsted report: View the Ofsted report
What the school says...
Chailey Heritage School caters for young people with complex physical disabilities, communication, sensory and learning difficulties. The school's multidisciplinary team offers education, residential facilities, therapy and health services all based on a single site. The school shares its location with Chailey Heritage Clinical Services (CHCS) - a specialist NHS clinical team and part of the South Downs Health NHS Trust. Pupils' clinical needs are overseen by specialists in paediatric conditions, neurological problems and long-term disabilities. Therapists from CHCS make up part of the multidisciplinary team.
Chailey Heritage School has developed its own curriculum, driven by the individual learner’s needs. This means every learner has their own curriculum, built specifically for them based on their skills and desired outcomes. It is broad in that it covers all aspects of their development and it is balanced in that it weighs up, specifically for them, the input that is needed. Above all, it is meaningful to each child and their family.
The CHILD Curriculum consists of totally personalised learner profiles detailing aspirations, strengths, needs, skills long term outcomes and next steps. The profiles include:
Communication profile
Physical profile
Access Technology profile
Social and Emotional Well-being profile
Engagement Support profile
Functional Skills Profile
Powered Mobility Profile
“I’ve always found the staff to be very encouraging, always very open to communicate, always very positive, trying to get the best out of each child. Each child is different, that’s what I love as well - they always make make sure each child has their own programme and they encourage them to be the best they can.”
Parent ...Read more
This is not currently a GSG-reviewed school.
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Overall school performance (for comparison or review only)
Entry/Exit
Special Education Needs
The ability to express ourselves, even to give a simple “yes” or “no” is something we all take for granted. At Chailey Heritage School, children whose active minds would otherwise be trapped by physical disability are enabled to communicate even though they can’t talk, and to get around using specially adapted wheelchairs thanks to its committed team of technicians. Chailey Heritage School caters for up to 100 of the most seriously disabled children in the country. It provides a stimulating and enjoyable learning environment for children with complex physical disabilities who, with the help of a dedicated team of teachers, care staff, support staff and volunteers, are able to reach their potential and enjoy an enhanced quality of life. The school is unique in that it provides the whole package. Education, nursing and medical care on site from a team of top paediatricians, therapists and nurses from the South Downs Health Trust, working within the school. This partnership allows the school to develop and implement tailored learning programmes for each child. It also provides respite for parents in the form of a “sleep-over” where the children can stay overnight with other children of their own age. Most of these youngsters require 24 hour care and help with just about all aspects of every-day life, so parents can’t ask family or friends to step in when they need a break. The school in Chailey, near Lewes, was founded in 1903 by Dame Grace Kimmins, a pioneer of education for children suffering from rickets, TB and even malnutrition. Today the disabilities and associated learning difficulties are much more complex; few of the pupils can talk or walk and most have minimal use of arms and hands. Whilst the majority of children suffer from cerebral palsy, some of these youngsters have been involved in road traffic and other tragic accidents. The school, which is nationally recognised and non-maintained, is also at the forefront of dual-placement in education which enables some pupils to attend part-time at their local school. Nov 09
| Condition | Provision for in school |
|---|---|
| ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder | |
| Aspergers | |
| Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders | |
| CReSTeD registered for Dyslexia | |
| Dyscalculia | |
| Dysgraphia | |
| Dyslexia | |
| Dyspraxia | |
| English as an additional language (EAL) | |
| Genetic | |
| Has an entry in the Autism Services Directory | Y |
| Has SEN unit or class | Y |
| HI - Hearing Impairment | |
| Hospital School | |
| Mental health | |
| MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty | |
| MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment | |
| Natspec Specialist Colleges | |
| OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability | |
| Other SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| PD - Physical Disability | |
| PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty | |
| SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health | |
| SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication | |
| SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty | |
| Special facilities for Visually Impaired | Y |
| SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| VI - Visual Impairment |
Interpreting catchment maps
The maps show in colour where the pupils at a school came from*. Red = most pupils to Blue = fewest.
Where the map is not coloured we have no record in the previous three years of any pupils being admitted from that location based on the options chosen.
For help and explanation of our catchment maps see: Catchment maps explained
Further reading
If there are more applicants to a school than it has places for, who gets in is determined by which applicants best fulfil the admissions criteria.
Admissions criteria are often complicated, and may change from year to year. The best source of information is usually the relevant local authority website, but once you have set your sights on a school it is a good idea to ask them how they see things panning out for the year that you are interested in.
Many schools admit children based on distance from the school or a fixed catchment area. For such schools, the cut-off distance will vary from year to year, especially if the school give priority to siblings, and the pattern will be of a central core with outliers (who will mostly be siblings). Schools that admit on the basis of academic or religious selection will have a much more scattered pattern.
*The coloured areas outlined in black are Census Output Areas. These are made up of a group of neighbouring postcodes, which accounts for their odd shapes. These provide an indication, but not a precise map, of the school’s catchment: always refer to local authority and school websites for precise information.
The 'hotter' the colour the more children have been admitted.
Children get into the school from here:
regularly
most years
quite often
infrequently
sometimes, but not in this year
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