An Orpington primary school that champions inclusivity is set to take on even more pupils in 2025.

Midfield Primary School, based in Grovelands Road, currently accommodates 460 children in the Cray Valley area.

A spokesperson for the school said: “The school believes wholeheartedly in inclusion; whereby all children, regardless of their starting points, are given the opportunity to access a high quality education.”

Midfield Primary School is made up of both a mainstream school and Treehouse - a designated specialist education setting with three classrooms providing specialist places for children with complex social communication needs and ASD with associated learning difficulties.

Treehouse currently educates 27 children.

A spokesperson added: “These children are able to access a bespoke and tailor-made curriculum following different learning pathways which are most appropriate to their development.

“Children with SEND make up some of the most vulnerable members of school communities.

“It is of the utmost importance that these children are given the right support at the right time to ensure that they're able to flourish and thrive in their education setting.

“Too often we hear from families that navigating SEN systems is complicated, and we agree.

“For most children with SEN, support can be organised at school-level and will be about identifying barriers and putting in place strategies that will enable individuals to achieve academically.

“For others, it's not always this straightforward and therefore it's really important to us that families are supported to understand local arrangements so that informed and appropriate decisions can be made.

“Identifying the correct learning environment, whether that be mainstream or specialist is key.”

Midfield Primary School is working with Bromley Council to discuss proposals for expanding its specialist classroom facilities.

The school claims this is due to an “increased demand across London for specialist school places – and due to the ongoing success of Treehouse”.

This would ideally allow Treehouse to grow enough to cater to a minimum of 36 pupils, a change that leaders at the school are “very excited about”.

In light of the proposals, Treehouse at Midfield already expanded to three specialist classrooms during the last academic year.

These children are currently in temporary classrooms and so leaders at the school are eager to see the expansion approved so that the school can take advantage of new specialist facilities.

This is likely to take place during 2025.  

Although the Treehouse specialist setting cannot be accessed for children with SEN who are enrolled in the mainstream school at Midfield, school and Trust Leaders claim that they are continuing to work collaboratively with other multi-agency professionals and hope to be able to offer more support to other schools through outreach in the future as well.

In the meantime, however, going through this expansion phase of our wonderful Treehouse setting is going to give and provide more families of children with SEN a “fantastic educational experience”. 

Families who are interested in seeking a school placement in Treehouse should speak with their Local Authority EHC Co-ordinator who can share details about this process.