The Caldecott Foundation, formerly known as the Caldecott Community, is a UK charity which provides therapeutic care and education for disadvantaged and vulnerable children. It has been based in the

Borough of Ashford The Borough of Ashford is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. It borders five other Kent districts, as well as East Sussex to the south-west. Ashford Borough Council's main offices are in the town of Ashford. The bo ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

since 1947 and operates seven registered children's homes in Kent and

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

as well the Caldecott Foundation School. The foundation's roots go back to 1911, when

Leila Rendel Leila Rendel OBE (11 October 1882 – 16 March 1969) was an English social worker, suffragist, and children's campaigner. She was the co-founder of the Caldecott Community, a pioneering boarding school in Kent for distressed and vulnerable child ...

founded a day nursery in the St Pancras district of London which catered to the children of women working in a nearby factory. It later evolved into a pioneering boarding school in

, first for working class children, and then for distressed and vulnerable children who had been placed into care. Rendel named the community after the children's book illustrator

Randolph Caldecott Randolph Caldecott (; 22 March 1846 – 12 February 1886) was a British artist and illustrator, born in Chester. The Caldecott Medal was named in his honour. He exercised his art chiefly in book illustrations. His abilities as an artist were pro ...

whose pictures adorned the walls of the St Pancras nursery. The foundation was officially incorporated in 1946 as the Caldecott Community. Its name was changed to the Caldecott Foundation in 1997.

History as the Caldecott Community

The Caldecott Comminuty began its life in 1911 when Leila Rendel and her friend Phyllis Potter set up their own nursery school based on the progressive ideas of

Margaret McMillan Margaret McMillan (20 July 1860 – 27 March 1931) was a nursery school pioneer and lobbied for the 1906 Provision of School Meals Act. Working in deprived districts of London, notably Deptford, and Bradford, she agitated for reforms to i ...

and Leila's aunt Edith Rendel who was an active critic of the

English Poor Laws The English Poor Laws were a system of poor relief in England and Wales that developed out of the codification of late-medieval and Tudor-era laws in 1587–1598. The system continued until the modern welfare state emerged after the Second World ...

, a pioneer girls' club leader and a militant

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

. Their school was located at Cartwright Gardens in St Pancras and mainly catered to the children of women working in a nearby matchbox factory. An admirer of

's children's book illustrations, Rendel named the nursery school in his honour and adorned its walls with a frieze of his pictures. Rendel's grandfather,

Alexander Meadows Rendel Sir Alexander Meadows Rendel, (3 April 1828 – 23 January 1918) was an English civil engineer. Rendel was born in Plymouth, the eldest son of the engineer James Meadows Rendel and his wife Catherine Harris. Three of his brothers were civ ...

, provided them with an endowment and further donations were received from her large circle of family and friends. By 1914 the school was well-established with a written constitution and

Percy Nunn Sir Thomas Percy Nunn (28 December 1870 – 12 December 1944) was a British educationalist, Professor of Education, 1913–36 at Institute of Education, University of London. He was knighted in 1930. Early life Nunn was born in Bristol in 1870. ...

as its chairman.

Princess Louise Princess Louise may refer to: ;People: * Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, 1848–1939, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom * Princess Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife, 1867–1931, the ...

served as its president.

The continued German bombing of London and subsequent condemnation of the St Pancras building by the local council in 1917 led the Caldecott Community to move with its teachers and children to Charlton Court, a large country house near

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

. In the process it became the first co-educational boarding school in the UK for working-class children. When the lease on Charlton Court expired in 1924, the school moved to another country house in

Goffs Oak Goffs Oak (Goff's Oak on Ordnance Survey maps) is a large village in the borough of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. It lies between Cuffley and Cheshunt, just north of the M25 motorway in a slightly more rural section of the ...

, a village in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

and remained there for the next eight years. During its time there the community increasingly took in distressed and vulnerable children whose family lives had been disrupted by death, illness, and divorce. The school moved back to the Maidstone area in 1932 where it occupied Mote House. The World War II bombing of Maidstone led to the community moving to

Hyde Heath Hyde Heath is a village in the civil parish of Little Missenden Little Missenden is a village and civil parish on the River Misbourne in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, about southeast of Great Missenden and west of Am ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

in 1941 where they remained for the duration of the war. Lord Lytton served as chairman of the school's trustees. During that period 100 boys and girls, including 15

Jewish refugees This article lists expulsions, refugee crises and other forms of displacement that have affected Jews. Timeline The following is a list of Jewish expulsions and events that prompted significant streams of Jewish refugees. Assyrian captivity ; ...

, were living in the community. They ranged in age from 1 to 16. At the time, only children up to the age of 11 were educated within the community itself. The older boys and girls went to local secondary schools. Over the years, ten Caldecott pupils were sent to

Gordonstoun School Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. It is named after the estate owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 17th century; the school now uses this estate as its campus. It is located ...

on scholarships. Leila Rendel was a life-long friend of

Kurt Hahn Kurt Matthias Robert Martin Hahn (5 June 1886, Berlin – 14 December 1974, Hermannsberg) was a German educator. He was decisive in founding, among other organizations and initiatives, Stiftung Louisenlund, Schule Schloss Salem, Gordonstoun, ...

, Gordonstoun's founder, and was a founding trustee of the school. Mersham-le-Hatch by A

In 1947 the community moved to Mersham-le-Hatch, a large country house designed by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his o ...

surrounded by parkland. Located near Ashford in Kent, it had served as a military hospital during World War II. That same year with a grant from the

Nuffield Trust The Nuffield Trust, formerly the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust, is a charitable trust with the mission of improving health care in the UK through evidence and analysis. The Nuffield Trust is registered with the Charity Commission as char ...

, Rendel set up the first experimental reception centre in England to assess the most appropriate placement for children who had been taken into care. Mersham would remain Caldecott's home for over five decades. Its owner,

Lord Brabourne Baron Brabourne, of Brabourne in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1880 for the Liberal politician Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen, the second son of Sir Edward Knatchbull, 9th Baronet, of Mersha ...

became a long-time supporter of the community and served on its board of governors for over 40 years. Leila Rendel retired from active directorship of the community in 1967 and died two years later at the age of 86. James King succeeded her as the director and served in that post until his retirement in 1993. Like Rendel, he was awarded an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for his work with the community. During his tenure he reorganised the community's structure and set up smaller family units for the residential care of the children and young people in its care.

Caldecott Foundation

With the impending expiry of the lease on Mersham-le-Hatch in the late 1990s, the community's organization underwent further structural changes, and in 1997 changed its name to the Caldecott Foundation. An £8m appeal was launched to fund the future accommodation and expansion of Caldecott. In 2002, the foundation's new headquarters were opened at Caldecott House, a large Victorian residence in

Smeeth Smeeth is a mostly agricultural land use village and civil parish, centred east of Ashford in the Ashford Borough of Kent, England. Geography Smeeth is a small village in population near Mersham Hatch Park on the A20 road from Ashford to Fol ...

. Several residential homes were constructed on its grounds as well as a purpose-built school nearby which opened in 2003. The foundation launched another appeal in 2011, its centenary year. The appeal raised £750,000 which was used to upgrade the foundation's supported accommodation and to set up two vocational training centers. As of 2021, the Foundation's services include therapeutic residential care, education both through tutoring and small classes in their residential care homes or at the Caldecott School, and therapeutic fostering placements. Caldecott Fostering moved onto the Ashford site in 2020. The Foundation is governed by a board of trustees whose chairman is Charles Lister OBE. Nick Barnett was appointed as managing director in March 2017.

Caldecott Foundation School

The Caldecott Foundation School is an independent

special school Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

located on Station Road in

Ashford, Kent Ashford is a town in the county of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Great Stour at the southern or Escarpment, scarp edge of the North Downs, about southeast of central London and northwest of Folkestone by road. In the ...

near the foundation's headquarters. It provides educational services and integrated therapy for children in the residential care of the foundation and delivers the

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with Federated stat ...

for

Key Stage 2 Key Stage 2 is the legal term for the four years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, when the pupils are aged between 7 and 11 years. England and Wales Legal definition The t ...

through

Key Stage 4 Key Stage 4 (KS4) is the legal term for the two years of school education which incorporate GCSEs, and other examinations, in maintained schools in England normally known as Year 10 and Year 11, when pupils are aged between 14 and 16 by August 31. ...

. The school has a

sixth form In the education systems of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and some other Commonwealth countries, sixth form represents the final two years of secondary education, ages 16 to 18. Pupils typically prepare for A-l ...

and also provides vocational training in a number of areas. The vocational training includes an off-site training center for motor vehicle mechanics which is also open to pupils from other schools. , 27 children and young people were enrolled in the school. The pupils range in age from 7 to 18 and are all eligible for pupil premium funding from the UK government. Many of them had been previously excluded from other care or educational settings because of their social, emotional and behavioural problems. According to the school's 2017

Ofsted The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is a Non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial department of Government of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's government, reporting to Parliament of the U ...

inspection report, all pupils in the previous three years who left the school at the end of

Year 11 Year 11 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is the eleventh or twelfth year of core education. For some Year 11 students it is their final year ...

or from the sixth form went on to further education, training or employment.

References

External links

Official website of the Caldecott FoundationCaldecott Community Archives

Website of 'The Caldecott Association' of former students and staff
*

reports (2005–2017)
Caldecott Foundation School. Reference Number: 119027
*''

Kentish Express The ''Kentish Express'' is a weekly newspaper serving southern Kent. It is published in four editions - Ashford, Folkestone, Hythe and the Romney Marsh, and Tenterden. It is owned by the KM Group KM Media Group is a multimedia company in ...

''. (10 February 2011)
"Social Pioneer Opened Nursery"
(has images of the original Caldecott nursery founded by Leila Rendel in 1911) {{authority control Children's charities based in England Youth charities based in the United Kingdom Educational charities based in the United Kingdom 1946 establishments in England Special schools in Kent Educational institutions established in 1946

History as the Caldecott Community

Caldecott Foundation

Caldecott Foundation School

References

Further reading

External links