Headstart School

Based on a farm in the heart of rural East Sussex, HEADSTART provides a safe, caring and positive community where all the individual needs of our students are catered for.

We offer a dynamic approach to education for 12-17 year olds who have found the environment of conventional schooling difficult to manage and so become disaffected.

Provision is also available for students diagnosed on the autistic spectrum; those with ADHD and other associated learning difficulties. We promote educational and social progress for all, and this is achieved through our high ratio of staff to students, which is often on the basis of 1:1.

The key principles underlying the HEADSTART curriculum are those of breadth, balance and relevance. The three principles are ensured by offering a broad curriculum and tailoring this to each student’s individual needs. Records of lessons, behaviour and work achieved are evaluated each day, full team meetings take place daily. Students meet with their personal tutor at least once a day.

Although this states what the school currently provides, it also seeks to ensure the importance of flexibility in the manner in which a student’s educational needs are met.

Our Vision and Values

We provide a caring supportive educational environment for students who experience severe emotional behavioural and social difficulties. Headstart staff are dedicated in meeting the academic, vocational, social and emotional needs of all those who are at risk of being marginalised by society. Our student centred approach offers the opportunity for all to maximise their life chances of becoming valuable members of society.