New Alternative Provision Free School - Wellington

Overview

Horizons Therapeutic Education Trust has been invited by the Department for Education (DfE) to operate a new Alternative Provision Free School in Somerset, which opened in September 2024. The Single Academy Trust (SAT) is proposing to expand to a second satellite school site to allow it double the number of learners it supports to 30 children.

Horizons Therapeutic Education Trust has been formed as part of a Strategic Partnership between The Shaw Trust Charity, Somerset Foundation Trust (NHS) and Somerset Council to support young people at risk of needing inpatient hospital support from CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) or children in the care of Somerset Council who are at significant risk of being homed out of county due to insufficient appropriate provision in Somerset. The partnership has already opened 7 small therapeutically informed homes in Somerset (with 1 more opening in early 2025), alongside a specialised fostering service.

Please review the information below about the proposed new Alternative Provision Free School and provide your feedback in the form provided. 

The new CLF SEMH Special School proposal

The new Horizons Therapeutic Education Trust Alternative Provision School provides 15 places for children of both sexes aged 11-18 who have: experienced significant trauma and have mental health needs, who have previously struggled to engage successfully with education, and/or are Children Looked After by Somerset Council and are at risk of being placed out of Somerset because of insufficient provision in Somerset to meet their needs. We would now like to double the number of children we support by opening a second satellite school site.

The second school site will be in Wellington, Somerset. The school site is due to open in September 2025 and will provide approximately 10-15 places for children of both sexes in the age range 11-18.

Horizons Therapeutic Education Trust propose to offer children across 2 education key stages the opportunity to re-engage with education. A CAMHS-led mental health team will work alongside educationalists to plan and support learning and provide therapeutic interventions. Children engaging with the new School will discover their talents within an individualised and rich curriculum, with learning focus around developing their strengths. Children will be taught in small groups or in individual sessions.

For a child to be admitted, the child must be a ‘Child Looked After’ by Somerset Council or at significant risk of entering an inpatient CAMHS mental health hospital ward. The school will aim to support children back into local Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) schools or local mainstream schools and will work closely with schools local to a child to support these transitions.

Both school sites are for a small number of students, and both the school in Misterton and in Wellington will utilise previous infant and primary schools.