What began with two parents, three pupils and a desperate search for suitable education for children with additional needs has grown into a specialist trust now shaping SEND provision far beyond Hindhead.
The original school was founded after parents struggled to find appropriate local provision for children with complex learning needs, with families describing a system that too often lacked small-scale, specialist environments. What began as a determined response to that gap has since developed into a growing education trust supporting children with a wide range of additional needs.
Oakleigh will provide places for up to 30 children aged four to 11 (Reception to Year 6) with Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN), Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and a range of significant learning difficulties, offering highly tailored support within a small, structured setting.
It will become the second school within the Trust’s growing family, alongside its flagship Undershaw Education in Hindhead.
Executive headteacher Emma West, who has led Undershaw Education for five years, will also oversee Oakleigh. The project is being delivered in partnership with the Leo Lion Foundation, which is providing patient capital funding as part of its wider social impact work.
“We are incredibly proud to be opening Oakleigh and to extend our specialist SEND provision to meet the needs of more children and families,” said Ms West. “Oakleigh has been thoughtfully designed as a calm and nurturing primary school, where every child will be known well, understood and supported to thrive both academically and personally. We are so excited about the provision that will soon be available to children and families in the area.”
Oakleigh has been designed for children who benefit from a smaller, highly structured primary environment where relationships are central and consistency is key. Its ethos is built around kindness, respect and high expectations, with a strong focus on ensuring every child feels safe, understood and able to succeed.
The school will offer a broad, adapted primary curriculum alongside specialist input, including integrated Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy. Teaching will follow a relational model, prioritising emotional wellbeing, communication development and social understanding as well as academic progress.
Based in a renovated building in Shackleford, the site is currently undergoing refurbishment to create a low-arousal, specialist learning environment. The Trust says the location has been chosen for its balance of accessibility, community feel and natural surroundings, aligning with its child-centred ethos.
Guided by values of Respect, Kindness and Resilience, the Trust’s strapline — “Eliminating the Impossible” — reflects its ambition to challenge expectations for young people with additional needs and remove barriers to opportunity.
The Leo Lion Foundation, which is supporting Oakleigh’s development, says its aim is to use business-led investment to generate long-term social impact, offering a “hand up rather than a hand out” to disadvantaged communities.
It says the partnership reflects a sustainable approach to expanding specialist education, helping meet rising demand for SEND places while prioritising educational purpose over profit.
Oakleigh, the Trust says, represents the next stage in its development — expanding high-quality, values-led specialist education while staying rooted in the ethos that began in a small classroom in Hindhead.
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