Welcome - Our Ethos

Welcome to Great Oaks Small School

We are a busy, friendly school, with lots going on. This website aims to give you a taster of the school, as well as providing up to date information for parents, students and the wider community.

We hope that you enjoy your visit to our website, and that you find the information you are looking for. Please feel free to contact the school direct with any queries you may have.

Head Teacher's Welcome

Welcome to Great Oaks Small School, my name is Julie-Anne Kelly, you and your child can call me Julie; I am the Head Teacher of the school.  I understand the choice of an Independent school is a critical one, especially when looking for a provision to meet the unique needs of your child. Great Oaks Small School recognises, more than most, the challenges many students struggle with in mainstream education, which is why we build from our roots upon five core values:

• Kindness
• Consideration
• Thoughtfulness
• Politeness
• Respect

Our Mission is to:

• Safeguard communities
• Embrace difference  
• Unlock Potential

Safeguarding children and protecting them from harm is everyone’s responsibility. No single person working with children can have a full picture of a child’s needs and circumstances and, if children and families are to receive the right help at the right time, everyone who comes into contact with them has a role to play in identifying concerns, sharing information and taking prompt action. 

Children learn by their own mistakes - Don't we all! 

Great Oaks Small School is a safe place to practice new skills

Our students learn how to be the safest they can be in their lives after Great Oaks

Embracing Difference encompasses safeguarding, as we all appreciate the richness of difference that we have in our school community and in our surrounding towns and villages. It is only by actively embracing difference that Great Oaks can create a community where diversity and inclusion are appreciated. 

Our students learn how to value themselves and appreciate one another

It is once students feel safe and are able to embrace difference that they are ready to learn and reach their full potential. Our students’ potential is unlocked through the participation in the Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology’s (INPP’s) Neuro-Developmental movement programme: www.inpp.org.uk

Our students learn how to move and think more freely

It is not uncommon for our students to perceive their previous educational experiences as troublesome, leaving them feeling and believing they are worthless citizens. Due to their extreme emotional states, some of our students find themselves withdrawn from society and unable to engage in everyday normal experiences. It is therefore, of utmost importance that our students’ transitions into Great Oaks Small School, is managed at the individual pace of each child. It is then by following our, mission statement along with the clear direction of our vision that we are able to move our students forward, watching them, over-time, create their own high aspirations and reach their personal goals.

Our students learn how to be good citizens, earning a valued place in society

Our vision is based on Maslow hierarchy of needs:

• Physiological
• Safety
• Belonging
• Self-esteem
• Cognitive
• Aesthetic
• Self-actualisation

All our students, with their needs met, will be able to learn and move up the hierarchy of needs to self-actualisation. These goals may not be met in a student’s time at Great Oaks, however every student will know the targets they need to achieve and will continue to strive for these as they move on into employment, further or higher education.

I am pleased to tell you that I am an INPP licenced practitioner and therefore able to support your child on the Neuro-Developmental Therapy (NDT) programme, mentioned above. This treatment programme is completely drug-free and non-invasive which can help children with specific learning difficulties and anxiety problems. It addresses the problems that occur as a result of impairment of the developing central nervous system that affects the individual’s sensory-motor, cognitive, perceptual, social and emotional development. Neuro-Developmental Treatment can be successful for autistic children , social communication impairment, high anxieties and learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia and attention deficits.

We are a team of highly committed teachers, support staff and trustees, working in partnership with students, parents and carers to provide the best possible educational experience, by laying firm foundations for our students´ successful futures.

We are a happy and caring community which believes in traditional values, and we are very proud of everyone who plays their part in it.  Our students leave Great Oaks as well rounded, well-grounded adults keen to take their place in society. 

I hope you enjoy looking at our website, but it is no substitute for a visit to our school which can be arranged through the school office. Come and meet us to feel the passion our team have for teaching and the passion our studnets have for learning. See how we do what we do and listen to why we do what we do in the way that we do it.

 If you or your child have ever thought that they just don't fit in this world,

perhaps it's because they were born to create a different one!

Come and meet us!