Residential at St Piers
Both St Piers School and St Piers College offer residential boarding options, including weekly and termly boarding in single rooms in spacious, well-equipped houses.
We follow a ‘Waking Day’ curriculum to give residents structure and improve their communication, independence and self-care skills.
Experienced, fully qualified residential staff undergo regular training to update skills.
Family and friends can stay in regular contact by phone, Skype or Face Time, and are always welcome to visit.
Residential houses at St Piers
At St Piers, we have 13 houses set in stunning rural grounds just outside Lingfield, a relaxing, calm environment, where pupils and students can feel safe and secure.
Each house accommodates between six and eight residents. At present, we have 84 children and young people in residence.
Because we want all our residents to feel comfortable in their surroundings, we match them in similar peer groups wherever possible.
This makes it easier for them to interact with others, make friends, share interests and enjoy life away from home.
For many pupils and students, the level of dedicated support they get by living at St Piers greatly improves their chances of a successful education.
At St Piers we are passionate about supporting the best interests of children and young people and working in partnership with families to achieve this goal.
Residential Options
At St Piers School and College, we know how important it is for young people to receive love and support from their families and to maintain regular contact with them. We also understand the crucial role parents and carers play in their children’s education and how their active involvement can lead to better outcomes, resulting in happier children and young people. Alongside this partnership working with parents, we also recognise the importance of getting the right balance between ‘home and school life’.
Children and young people who spend long periods of time living away from home can experience poorer outcomes and/or dwindling contact with their families and social networks which, in turn, can have a negative impact on both their education and wellbeing.
With the above in mind, and to ensure children and young people who require residential placements whilst attending St Piers have the best possible outcomes, we only offer weekly boarding placements to those up to the age of 18. This enables them to return home to their families at weekends and maintain that rich contact.
In recognition of the normal move to greater independence as a youngster reaches adulthood, we do offer termly boarding as an option for students in the academic year following their 18th birthday if this is preferred.
At St Piers we are passionate about supporting the best interests of children and young people and working in partnership with families to achieve this goal.
House facilities
All residents have their own bedroom, which they can decorate as they wish.
Each house has a spacious, well-equipped kitchen and a dining room.
We support residents to plan menus, cook and learn a range of household skills.
These are all skills they can use at home and in their future lives, including, where needed, lifelong placements.
All showers and bathrooms have specialist equipment.
We also work with residents to develop personal care routines that will help them live independently in the years to come.
The ‘Waking Day’ curriculum
The ‘Waking Day’ curriculum is our specially designed learning programme for residential learners.
It gives them a structured and productive day – all day, not just during classroom hours.
Through this approach, we support students to improve their communication, independence and self-care skills.
These are skills that they can use in the home, their community and, where needed, in lifelong placements.
Residential staff
Our residential staff work closely with our therapy and medical teams to make sure pupils and students receive personalised care.
This can range from providing a special diet to understanding how they prefer to communicate.
All staff are qualified to support a range of individual needs and undergo regular training to update their skills.
If you would like to discuss how we can address any specific needs, then please contact us by phone or email – see bottom of page for details.
Family and friends
We want pupils and students to keep in touch with their family and friends, who are welcome to visit at any time.
Please do check with us before you visit, in case we are doing an off-site activity.
You can also keep in touch with pupils and students by phone or via FaceTime or Skype – whichever is most convenient.
Ofsted and CQC reports
St. Piers School and College is part of Young Epilepsy. Young Epilepsy is the operating name of The National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy Charitable Trust - Registered Charity number 311877 (England and Wales).
Ofsted stands for the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills and is a government-run organisation who are responsible for conducting inspections and assessments of schools, colleges and residential care across the UK and publishing the results.
St Piers Residential Special School Ofsted report
Date of inspection 11 July 2022
Rating Good
CQC stands for the Care Quality Commission, who are the independent regulator of health and social care in England. Their role is to register care providers, monitor, inspect and rate services and take action to protect people who use services.
St Piers Residential College CQC report
Last full inspection
Date of inspection 20 February 2018
Rating Good
St Piers Residential College CQC report
Last ad hoc inspection
Date 27 January 2021
Rating n/a
