About The School

Please read a letter from our Chair of Governors.

Please also read a copy of our latest Ofsted report.

St Nicholas is an innovative community day special school dedicated to developing opportunities for over 330 children and young people aged between 4 and 19 who have profound, severe and complex learning difficulties. 

When rating the school as “Good” in 2018, Ofsted inspectors commented that:

• “..... pupils are provided with a calm, friendly and supportive environment in which to learn. Pupils are happy and well behaved and enjoy school, with one stating ‘School is perfect’. Pupils are engaged in lessons and proud of their work”.

Our values - Well-Being, Respect, Pupil Learning and Professional Working – support our twofold vision:

1. To create a high quality educational provision for children & young people with profound, severe & complex learning needs.
2. To locate the school in the centre of the community. Partner with other schools, agencies, institutions & key stakeholders.

As a specialist resource, we offer smaller class sizes, higher staff ratios (we have around 250 staff) and the delivery of a suitably modified curriculum by skilled teaching teams supported by a multi-disciplinary group of professionals including Speech and Language Therapists, Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists. 

The pupils, many of whom also have additional difficulties such as physical disabilities and sensory impairment, have individual programmes, which enable them to learn at the pace most appropriate for them. 

Older pupils in the secondary department work towards accredited courses, including City and Guilds and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

The school utilises the local community to facilitate the development of life and functional skills. We aim to give each child a sense of personal value, promoting self-confidence and self-esteem whilst providing a secure yet challenging and happy environment.  

St Nicholas opened on its present main site in 1986 and underwent extensive redevelopment in 2006-2008. Since then we have expanded our provision into satellite classes and buildings at 4 primary schools and 2 secondary schools in the Canterbury area. We also have a sixth form located in its own building on the campus of Canterbury College. 

The school is fully committed to working in partnership with the parents, families and carers of the children and young people at St Nicholas School. Our Well-Being team helps parents with issues and problems as they arise and assists with referrals, offers support at meetings, and signposts to other agencies or support groups. 

In a recent survey, parents and carers said that 

• “We have been super impressed with everything the school offers. Teaching is great, discipline is great and works wonders for our child and has helped him develop in every aspect”.
• “The school understands how children have different ways of learning”.

The school's active and committed PTFA has raised significant funds for St Nicholas over the years and continues to provide valuable support to the school in everything it does.

The St Nicholas Governing Board strives to provide the school with effective strategic leadership.  Governors are ambitious for all the school’s children and young people and infused with a passion for education and a commitment to continuous school improvement that enables the best possible outcomes.

St Nicholas School is always looking to improve what it does, share resources and expertise, and adapt new approaches whilst maintaining a strong, effective partnership with the school’s governors, parents and carers as well as the wider community. As our motto says: 

We are a community of learners

If you would like to find out more about St Nicholas School, please contact Moira Lindsay, School Admin Manager on 01227 464316 or by email M.LINDSAY@stns.org.uk.