Heartwood House

We are so excited to start the new year at Heartwood House! We have welcomed our new students and welcomed back our existing students. It didn’t take long for us all to get stuck into activities…

Students and staff enjoyed a sunny session of bowls last week, hosted by the wonderful volunteers at Harrow Bowls Club.

After six years as Executive Headteacher, Cathy will be stepping down from her role at the end of this academic year, on 31st August 2025, in order to spend more time supporting her daughter as she prepares for her GCSEs and to explore some new business opportunities with her husband.

Cathy said:
“It has been a true privilege to lead Heartwood House through a period of growth and development, and to work with such an inspiring community of students, families, and staff. Over the coming months, I will be working closely with our Trustees, Chris, Caroline, and our fantastic team to ensure a smooth and supportive handover for everyone in our community. I know that Heartwood House will continue to thrive under their leadership.

Thank you all for your incredible support during my time here. It has been the greatest honour to be part of the Heartwood House journey, and I look forward to seeing all the wonderful things the future holds for our school.”

Our Chair of Trustees, Geraldine Norris, led a comprehensive recruitment process along with Trustees with responsibility for Education and HR. As a result, Chris Seymour has been appointed as our next Executive Headteacher, taking up the role from 1st September 2025.

Geraldine announced:
“Heartwood House has gone from strength to strength under Cathy’s leadership and on behalf of all the trustees, staff and students I should like to wish her every happiness and success in the future.

It is my great pleasure to announce that Chris Seymour, who has been a highly valued member of our Senior Leadership Team since 2019, when he joined us to lead our Outreach Programme will take over from Cathy as Executive Headteacher on 1st September 2025. Over the last six years, Chris has played a central role in the development of Heartwood House, particularly at Roxborough Road, and has worked closely with Cathy to embed metacognitive approaches into our teaching. His passion, energy, and commitment to our ethos are clear to everyone who knows him.”

Commenting on his appointment Chris said:
"I’m absolutely delighted to be taking on the role of Executive Headteacher at Heartwood House. It’s a privilege to take over the leadership of such a strong, well-established, and inspiring school. I’m excited to build on the incredible work already being done by Cathy and our dedicated team."

Alongside this change, we are also very pleased to announce that Caroline Gordon will be stepping into Chris’s current role as Centre Headteacher at Roxborough Road. Caroline has been a fantastic member of our off-site team and brings a wealth of experience in child-centred learning and curriculum development.

Caroline expressed:
"It is my great pleasure to be taking on the role of Centre Headteacher at Roxborough Road. I have a deep interest and background in curriculum design and school development, particularly as they relate to more child-centred approaches to learning, and I am excited to play a role in continuing to build on, and enhance, our students' successes. Change can evoke many different feelings, and over the next few months, I will work closely with Cathy, Chris, and the fantastic team here at Heartwood House to ensure a smooth transition for everyone at Roxborough Road."

Over the coming months, Cathy will be working closely with our Trustees, Chris, Caroline, and our fantastic team to ensure a smooth and supportive handover for everyone in our community. The Board of Trustees is confident that Heartwood House will continue to thrive under their leadership.

We're so excited to launch our new brand today! Formerly Red Balloon North West London, we today unveil our new name and logo. This change is a reflection of our commitment to the emotional and academic growth of our students, and we believe the new name better captures the essence of our mission.

Why Heartwood House?

The term "Heartwood" refers to the strong, central core of a tree, symbolising the resilience and inner strength we aim to cultivate in our students. While our name is changing, our dedication to providing a supportive and enriching environment remains steadfast.

Our Kenton Road dog is helping in the Christmas quiz!

A brilliant Christmas dinner at our Kenton centre - 12 students ate at the table; such a massive achievement for our students who struggle with social gatherings.

And that’s a wrap! Amazing production from our student led team, written, performed, produced and hosted by our incredible community. Laughter and tears on every face in the auditorium. East Lane Theatre, thank you for welcoming us; we will be back!

The stage is set and we are all ready to start our Christmas production 2023 - Peter Pan! We are so proud, this has been student owned and run from the outset, cast, crew and front of house. What an amazing achievement for any young people but particularly those who struggle with anxiety and confidence.

Amazing Batik workshop being enjoyed by our Kenton and Churchill students today

Our therapy dogs are busy supervising refurbishment work ahead of our new centre opening…this place is about to be totally transformed, with new carpets, walls, curtains, doors, lighting, to name just a few. But we’ve done the important work first and got the comfy sofa in place.

As part of their PSHE lessons, our Kenton Road students are taking care of eggs over a whole week, in their specially designed homes. They’re taking the responsibility really seriously and the eggs have been to all their lessons and been carefully cared for throughout breaks and lunches, as well as painstakingly transporting them between home and school.

This has gone alongside a reflective project considering all aspects of parenting and has been so excitedly engaged with by our students.

No eggs have yet been harmed…