Chailey Heritage School is a

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 in

North Chailey North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is owned and operated by the

Chailey Heritage Foundation The Chailey Heritage Foundation, which was founded as the Chailey Heritage, is an English charity that owns and runs the Chailey Heritage School. It was founded out of the Guild of the Poor Brave Things in 1903 by Dame Grace Kimmins. The foundati ...

. The school is for children and young adults, aged between 3 and 19, with complex physical disabilities, including visual and hearing impairments, and associated learning difficulties. Some pupils have a profound learning disability in addition to other disabilities (PMLD).

History

Chailey Heritage School was initially set up as a school for disabled children and has since steadily evolved into a school for pupils with highly complex combination physical and cognitive issues.

and School was founded in 1903 by

Grace Kimmins Dame Grace Mary Thyrza Kimmins, (''née'' Hannam; 6 May 1870 – 3 March 1954) was a British writer who created charities that worked with children who had disabilities. Biography Kimmins was born in Lewes, Sussex, the eldest of four children bo ...

, who was moved by the many children born "crippled" (as it was termed then) and for whom education was non-existent. The plan was to build a school specifically for these children, in the countryside where the beauties of life could be experienced, which would educate and teach a craft to ensure independence in adulthood. It would be a school they would be proud to be part of and it would always be there for them in times of need – their Heritage. She found an old workhouse at

Chailey Chailey is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It is located 7 miles north of Lewes, on the A272 road from Winchester to Canterbury. The Prime Meridian passes just to the east of Chailey. The parish consists ...

and on 6 June 1903 she arrived with seven boys. The pupils’ first task was to make a little wooden ladder, each rung representing achievement; their first writing test was "There’s always room at the top". By 1936 the school had re-sited and expanded into a boys' school and a girls' school three miles away, still in

– both equipped with operating theatres and medical facilities where education and treatment could be practised together. The nationalisation of medical services led to the amicable split of medical and education. The two parts continue to work together – with Chailey Heritage School focused on education and Chailey Heritage Clinical Services on medical services. This partnership continues today, with the school and

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

service together on one site.

Chailey Heritage Clinical Services (CHCS)

Chailey Heritage Clinical Services (CHCS) is the NHS service co-located with Chailey Heritage School to provide clinical and therapeutic input on site. In addition to their work at Chailey Heritage School they provide specialist services for children and young people with complex neurodisability throughout East and West Sussex.

Notable former pupils

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was a British singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Ian Dury and the Blockheads an ...

– Musician and actor *

Peter Hull Peter Maurice Hull, MBE (born 6 December 1965 in Paris, France) is a British Paralympic gold medalist. Early life Peter Hull was born in France to English parents. He was born without legs and with arms ending at the elbow. From a young age ...

– Paralympian *

Alison Lapper Alison Lapper Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 7 April 1965) is a British artist. She is the subject of the sculpture ''Alison Lapper Pregnant'', which was displayed on Fourth plinth, Trafalgar Square, the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square ...

– Artist

References

External links

Chailey Heritage School official website
{{authority control Special schools in East Sussex Educational institutions established in 1903 1903 establishments in England Independent schools in East Sussex