Heath Farm School was opened in 1993, and for many years it has been a positive force in re-engaging young people in their learning.
The school occupies a beautiful rural site in Charing Heath, Kent. The school buildings have been designed to make a conscious connection between the environment and the development of the learner. We successfully opened Heath Farm College in January 2024 in Maidstone. This too is set in a purposeful environment to enhance the learning of our Post 16 students.
The school and college are independent, co-educational, day schools approved for up to 164 students from 5-18 years old who for a variety of reasons have not been able to sustain mainstream education. Students generally have social, emotional and mental health difficulties and a range of additional learning difficulties including ASD, SLCN, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, ODD, issues which require CAMHS involvement and Attachment Disorder. The majority of students are brought into school either by minibus or taxi from a wide area of the county and taught in small classes with a high level of support.
The school works to help young people achieve their maximum personal potential in all academic and social spheres. It guides them to enter the world with a strong sense of self-worth and a sense of themselves as part of the wider community and it encourages them to develop respect for themselves and for others as well as the self-confidence to strive to achieve high standards in every aspect of their lives.
Many of the young people who attend Heath Farm School also attend therapy provided by directly employed team of Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists and Psychotherapists (plus contracting a large number of Psychotherapists), to carry out specialist work with our students. The school also benefits from the support of a Consultant Educational Psychologist who works alongside the teaching staff to supports young people in accessing education.
Young people are grouped according to age and academic and social development in small classes with a high staff to student ratio. The school welcomes students of any ethnicity, religious or social background. Parents and carers are encouraged to become part of the school community, contributing to its life and development.
Alongside the dedicated curriculum and wellbeing development of students, the site also allows us to give our students the opportunity to grow fruit and vegetables in the school allotments, and to take part in vocational activities in workshops and kitchen spaces.
Making a Difference
Heath Farm School provides a supportive and challenging learning environment whereby each child will have the opportunity to develop their potential, whether this is academic, vocational, sporting or achieving personal goals.
As an inclusive school, we offer a broad and balanced curriculum tailored to each individual child in a personalised way. This gives every child the opportunity to progress at their own pace whilst developing the necessary skills to become competent and confident to meet the challenges of the future. The staff at Heath Farm School are experienced and dedicated in supporting each child, offering both academic expertise and considerable pastoral care intervention. The needs of each child will always come first and the Every Child Matters Agenda is firmly rooted in the school ethos.
We believe that the majority of students have built up, through their life experiences, considerable resilience and we endeavour to build on and nurture this in a positive direction, leading to helping them become able to achieve their maximum potential. We place a high value on partnership in achieving our aims and realise that support from carers, parents, therapists and social workers is a vital component to the work we do at school.
The school will always measure its success against the achievements of the children and young people in our care. To see students move on to life after school with the necessary skills to equip them for the world of work or further education so that they can make a positive contribution to society is both highly satisfying and a vindication that Heath Farm School does make a difference.