Educate U is a small independent day school in Worthing, registered for ages 5 to 16 with a published capacity of 40. It is designed for children and young people who have struggled to access mainstream education, with all students having an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and a stated focus on needs such as autism, ADHD, anxiety, and trauma or attachment barriers to learning.
The latest full Ofsted inspection (11 to 13 March 2025) graded the school Requires improvement overall, with Good for quality of education and Outstanding for behaviour and attitudes and personal development. A subsequent progress monitoring inspection on 4 November 2025 reported that the independent school standards checked during that visit were met.
For parents, the most distinctive feature is the deliberately small scale. The school describes exceptionally small classes and a high adult to student ratio, alongside trauma-informed practice and an integrated therapeutic offer.
This is a provision built around re-engagement. The March 2025 inspection report describes many students arriving after long periods out of education, with staff prioritising relationships, trust, and confidence rebuilding, before academic momentum follows.
Educate U also uses a clear internal language around wellbeing and regulation. The school sets out a trauma-informed framework described as Protect, Relate, Regulate, Reflect, which is intended to shape daily routines and adult responses when children struggle. Alongside this, the school states that staff are trained in PACE, and that therapeutic work for complex trauma can take place at “Therapy House” in a converted station building near Worthing station, separate from the main school site.
Scale matters here. The school’s own information indicates multiple small classes across several rooms, with a maximum of seven children per classroom for 2025 to 2026, supported by teaching assistants and specialist staff. For families weighing fit, that typically implies a quieter, more closely supervised day than most mainstream settings, but also a narrower peer group and fewer “big school” experiences.
There are no published GCSE, A-level, or primary performance metrics for this school, and there are no FindMySchool rankings available for its phases. That usually happens with very small cohorts and specialist independent settings.
What can be evidenced from the most recent inspection evidence is the intent and delivery of learning rather than exam outcomes at scale. The March 2025 inspection report describes an ambitious curriculum, with particular progress noted in reading and in key stage 4 for those able to access it. The November 2025 progress monitoring report describes a carefully designed curriculum linked to pupils’ EHC plans, with staff using assessment to identify next steps and review individual learning plans formally every term.
Educate U sets out two main curriculum pathways, “formal” and “semi-formal”, intended to match the level of emotional support and catch-up support required, while keeping pupils connected to a broad curriculum. On the school website, the formal curriculum is described as broad and balanced, with subject coverage varying by age and a focus on consistency alongside adaptive teaching.
Assessment is framed around the standard Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle, with the school positioning this as a mechanism to remove barriers and refine support as understanding of a student develops. For families, the practical implication is that education and therapeutic support are presented as tightly linked, with frequent review points rather than a set-and-forget model.
Educate U runs to age 16, so the main transition point is post-16 provision. The school operates within an EHCP-led model and states that students typically present with complex needs or barriers to mainstream, which usually means next-step planning is highly individual.
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Admissions here are not a standard “apply by a fixed deadline” route. The school states that a child must be referred (by education authorities, social workers, parents, foster agencies, or previous schools), must be aged 5 to 16, must have an EHCP, and must have school anxieties, trauma, or attachment barriers to education.
That is a materially different admissions pathway from most independent day schools. The implication for parents is that the first practical step is usually an EHCP consultation process rather than a place offer based on entrance testing or typical timelines.
If you are trying to understand availability and suitability, the most useful evidence to gather is how the school describes matching need, how it manages reintegration, and what therapeutic capacity is available for your child’s profile. The school site indicates visits and open day style opportunities can be arranged, with enquiries handled directly by the provision.
Pastoral care is central rather than supplementary. The school describes an in-house therapeutic team including roles such as Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) and Speech and Language Therapy assistant support, alongside SENCO leadership. It also describes specific parent-facing support structures such as PACE training and time-limited therapy blocks for parents and carers in crisis.
The practical implication is that parents should expect a school that sees family support and regulation work as part of the educational plan, not an optional add-on. For some families, that joined-up model is exactly what has been missing. For others, it can feel intensive, particularly if you want a more conventional “school only” relationship.
Because this is a small specialist provision, extracurricular life tends to look different from large mainstream schools. The strongest evidence available is around enrichment integrated into the curriculum and wellbeing-led activities.
The school highlights Forest School as a significant strand, and references dance sessions within creative approaches to learning. It also runs a “Stay and Play Holiday Club” listing activities such as arts and crafts, cooking and baking, and music, media and coding.
For families, the key question is not “how many clubs”, but whether the enrichment is accessible for a child who may be anxious, dysregulated, or rebuilding attendance. In that context, small-group practical activities, outdoor learning, and structured creative sessions can be more meaningful than a long menu of after-school options.
Educate U is registered as an independent school. However, as a specialist EHCP-led provision, it may not publish a parent-facing termly fee schedule in the way a fee-paying independent day school typically does.
Fees data coming soon.
Educate U is based in Worthing and operates as an independent day setting for ages 5 to 16. Because the provision is small and specialist, transport and day-to-day routines can be tightly tailored. The school indicates that visits can be arranged at times designed to suit the setting’s operating model.
Inspection trajectory and leadership capacity. The March 2025 inspection graded overall effectiveness as Requires improvement, with leadership and management also Requires improvement. Families should ask what has changed since then, and how compliance and oversight are now managed.
Very small peer group. Capacity is 40 and classes are described as small. This can be stabilising, but it also means fewer same-age peers and a narrower social environment.
Admissions depend on EHCP and referral. The school’s published criteria require an EHCP and a referral route. If you are early in the EHCP process, timescales may be driven by statutory assessment and consultation rather than school-term deadlines.
Therapeutic model is central. The school frames trauma-informed practice and therapy access as core. This suits families seeking an integrated approach, but it is worth checking how therapy time is scheduled alongside curriculum time for your child.
Educate U is best understood as a small, specialist, EHCP-led independent provision aimed at children who have not been able to thrive in mainstream education. The evidence points to strong relational practice, clear trauma-informed frameworks, and a curriculum structured to meet pupils where they are, with a subsequent monitoring visit indicating improvement in the standards checked.
Who it suits: families seeking a tightly supported, therapeutic, small-scale setting for a child aged 5 to 16 with an EHCP and significant anxiety, trauma-related barriers, or complex needs that make mainstream education hard to sustain.
Educate U is a small independent specialist provision with an EHCP-led intake. The latest full Ofsted inspection in March 2025 graded the school Requires improvement overall, with Good for quality of education and Outstanding for behaviour and attitudes and personal development. A progress monitoring inspection in November 2025 reported that the independent school standards checked during that visit were met.
Educate U is an independent school. The March 2025 Ofsted report lists annual fees (day pupils) as £50,000 at the time of inspection. The school did not appear to publish a parent-facing 2025 to 2026 fee schedule in the web pages reviewed, and many placements of this type are funded through EHCP processes, so families should confirm costs and funding routes directly.
The school states that children must be referred and must have an EHCP, with the provision intended for students aged 5 to 16 who have school anxieties, trauma, or attachment barriers to education. This is not a standard deadline-driven admissions process.
The school’s published admissions criteria require an EHCP. Families without an EHCP in place would normally need to pursue statutory assessment through their local authority before a consultation for a specialist placement.
The school describes a therapeutic approach for complex trauma including options such as art psychotherapy, counselling, and parent-child therapy, and states that staff are trained in PACE. It also sets out a trauma-informed framework described as Protect, Relate, Regulate, Reflect.
Get in touch with the school directly
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