Empowering Families, Inspiring Futures
Embracing Neurodiversity
Welcome to Havenswood Trust…
We are an independent charity working to improve the lives of neurodivergent children and their families. Our current project, developed in partnership with international charity The Oasis Trust, is to create a supportive village community for neurodivergent children, young people and their families in Scarborough and across the coastal regions of North Yorkshire.
Our Village goal is to address the challenges that too many SEND children and their families have faced for too long - like absence, exclusion, mental health struggles, social isolation and fragmented, difficult-to-navigate access to essential services. It’s too easy to get lost in the system or even understand which service you need to access, or what is available.
WHAT IS AN OASIS “VILLAGE”?
If you walked into the Village, you wouldn’t find a traditional school or service. Instead, you’d see a collection of calm, welcoming spaces with different things happening side by side, and groups of trained professionals and partners working together.
In the Education Hub, several small groups of children might be learning with teachers in a quiet, low-pressure environment. Nearby, a young person could be building confidence through a practical life skills session in a kitchen or workshop space. Down the corridor, a therapist might be meeting with a family, while in a shared café area parents are having a coffee, chatting, and accessing informal support. There are quiet rooms for regulation, activity spaces for creative or physical sessions, and outdoor areas for fresh air and nature-based activities.
The same families might move between these spaces across the day or week, accessing the right support at the right time, all in one place where everything feels joined up, flexible and supportive.
The village works through a collaborative partnership of schools, health professionals volunteers and charities, working together, rather than in competition with one another - all within a shared community covenant. Spaces and facilities are shared, enabling collaboration and the development of best practice to provide high quality, research driven, holistic support.
This is what OASIS Village Havenswood will look like.
To build our village community, we’re partnering with Oasis Charitable Trust (Oasis UK), one of the UK’s largest charities and an organisation with over 40 successful years of experience in setting up schools and delivering successful national and international community projects. We are privileged to have been accepted as a pilot partner to develop their “Village” model here in Scarborough. Given Oasis’ long-established links with education and their influence on driving government policy, this is a huge opportunity with clear national relevance and aligns with the growing government interest in new, integrated, community-based approaches to supporting young people with additional needs.
The Oasis “Village” model we’re adopting is their newly developed, groundbreaking approach to community care that has been piloted in Brixton, London and that has received high acclaim at government and national level as a pioneering, ‘new way’ forward - a powerful example of how bringing together education, family support and community services in one place can significantly transform outcomes.
Our model of the village will support children (and their families) who are struggling in mainstream environments, are excluded or unable to attend school because of trauma or burnout and in need of extra support in a variety of areas. As well as supporting education, it targets those at risk of exclusion, isolation and youth criminality, and provides temporary (or occasionally permanent) safe spaces for those who need them. Based on the principal that “it takes a village to raise a child,” the aim is to deliver a wide range of support that is easily accessible to those who need it.
(Take a look at the St Martin’s Village in Brixton, London to see the flagship village in action.)
The village community will combine education, early days and family support, a range of supportive therapies, counselling, life skills, youth initiatives and enrichment activities …all accessible from one space and all tailored to the individual through a network of connected pathways .
This is an exciting, local project of national interest and means that Scarborough is in an excellent position to help shape and drive future SEND provision nationwide.
“A Village is more than co-location or even partnership. It is the complete coming together and integration of our energy and resources – a new civil society covenant to create the opportunity for children and young people to raise their aspirations, set ambitious goals, and unlock their potential. It’s time to think like a forest rather than a group of individual trees. That is the only way we will get the job done!”
Steve Chalke - Founder of Oasis UK
OASIS UK and HAVENSWOOD
Shaping the Future of SEND Support
Ages 9-16 Provision
Community Village
A Centre for Excellence
Havenswood Village hopes to become a recognised research centre in SEND and neurodiversity. We believe it is important to keep learning about what helps children and young people with SEND to thrive, and to be honest about what doesn’t work for them. Our SEND research programme will help us do exactly that.
By listening to children, families, and professionals, and by carefully trying out new ideas and approaches, we can understand what truly supports wellbeing, confidence, and learning. This ongoing learning means we are always improving what we offer, rather than relying on one-size-fits-all solutions. Our goal is to build knowledge that not only strengthens our own provision, but that also shapes best practice across the country.
Discover more about our research ambitions by clicking below.
Laying the foundations for a SEND village built on understanding, partnership and hope for neurodivergent families.
Get Involved
We know we can’t do this alone, and need your support! There are so many ways to get involved with our mission – so take a look and discover how you can help us make a real difference.
Contact Us
Feel free to contact us with any questions.
Email
info@havenswoodtrust.org
Phone
07788114559
