Meath School

Special needs catered for

Meath, a Speech and Language UK school, is a residential (weekly) and day school providing teaching, therapy and care to children aged 4-11 years, whose primary difficulty is speech, language and communication, including high-functioning autism. Children with associated difficulties including some degree of learning difficulty, attention control, fine and gross motor co-ordination problems, mild visual and/or hearing impairments, medical needs and social interaction problems may also benefit from the provision.

Specialist facilities

The school offers many specialist practices, e.g. signing, Cued Articulation, Alternative Augmentative Communication and visual supports, which enable full access to differentiated Early Years, KS1/KS2 National Curriculum teaching. There are high staffing ratios with professionally qualified, highly experienced staff. Each class (average 10 children) has an allocated teacher, speech and language therapist and learning support assistant(s). Occupational therapy staff support individual children and school-wide class based motor-skills groups and sensory integration sessions.. An activity and life skills programme is offered in the residential setting by the child care staff.

Support services provided

Strong partnerships with parents/carers are vital to the success of pupils. Families are encouraged to make observation visits to the school, and to contribute to their child's Individual Learning Targets. The school has a family partnership lead worker who can work with the whole family in the home context.

General environment

Set in the beautiful 8-acre site, Ottershaw Surrey, Meath School is nurturing community with communication at its heart. We are here to support children aged 4-11 with complex speech, language and communication needs to build the foundations they need to flourish. We provide an exciting and stimulating environment for children to reach their potential and meet their individual needs, with the option for children to sleep over for up to four nights per week at our residential education centre.

As well as our stunning grounds, we are lucky enough to have

- A large woodland play area with playground equipment

- A large soft surface playground with "road" markings

- An adventure playground

- A smaller, gated playground for Early Years children

- An outdoor sandpit

- An indoor heated swimming pool with changing rooms

- A sensory integration room

- A canteen with nutritious hot meals

- An indoor gym with Occupational Therapy equipment

Aims and philosophy

Our mission is that no child is left out or left behind due to a difficulty speaking or understanding.

Meath School achieve this by supporting children with complex speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) to Talk, Learn & Grow:

- Enabling each child to talk, understand and connect with the world through a combination of communication methods

- Integrating specialist teaching, therapy and care to help children learn

- Creating a nurturing environment where children grow up safe and happy

Our parents are supported by our experienced team of Teachers, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Learning Support Assistants, who go above and beyond to care and support their children. We also offer a residential service which allows the children to stay over Monday - Thursday and provides parents the respite they may need! The residential team works closely to encourage the independence and teach valuable life skills that the children need to grow. They also take part in lots of fun activities and it's a great way to socialise with their friends beyond the classroom. All of this contributes to build the foundations they need to thrive in their future education and lives.

"Meath School has been amazing - we've got our little boy back! He's made lots of friends, and he's understanding so much more. The school teaches life skills so they can be more independent. The strategies they've given him means he doesn't need any additional support which is really empowering."

(Registered Charity No: 210031).

For further information about Speech and Language UK please contact:
2 Angel Gate, Hall Street, London EC1V 2PT
Tel: 020 7843 2510
Email: [email protected]
Website: speechandlanguage.org.uk