Hatfield Wick Education

10/09/2026

A moment for you, every first Wednesday of the month. ☕

Parents and carers of children with SEND, SEMH needs, anxiety or school attendance difficulties are warmly welcome to join us at Oliver's Barn, Witham for a cuppa, a chat, and a bit of support. No pressure, just a space to pause and connect.

Next dates: 7th October, 4th November, 2nd December, 9:45-11:45am.

You don't have to do it alone. Everyone is welcome.

Know someone who might find this helpful? Please share. 💙

10/09/2026

Bucket Time made an appearance on our virtual day.

It's one of the tools we use with students to build focus, step by step. Start with something high-interest, like bubbles or a sensory toy. Hold attention on it a little longer. Then practise the harder part: taking a turn, and bringing attention back to the group.

Today, that happened over a laptop screen instead of in the classroom. Same focus, same small wins.

09/09/2026

This week wasn't meant to look like this.

Water issues at our Whitelands campus meant the school couldn't open its doors, so for the first time ever, Hatfield Wick went virtual - with our students getting super creative!

Meet Callum the Cactus 🌵🐱, a brilliant hybrid cactus-cat design, and Juno the alien 👽, who made her debut as part of this week's new creative writing project.

Then there was this moment - Lou and Steph leading the Birch AM group in a full wiggle dance, screens and all! Because sometimes the best bit of the day happens when nobody's expecting it.

Thank you to our team for turning a tricky morning into something our students will positively remember. 🕺

06/09/2026

Whitelands Update – Closure on Monday

Hatfield Wick Education at Whitelands will be closed to students on Monday 7 September.

We have received further advice regarding the water supply at Whitelands, confirming that no mains water at the site should be used at this time.

We have been working closely with our Health & Safety advisers to explore whether suitable temporary arrangements could be put in place. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to source the necessary hot and cold water provision required for us to operate the site safely.

We appreciate that an unexpected change to routine can be particularly difficult for some of our young people, and we are sorry for the disruption this may cause. This decision has been made with the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff as our priority.

Anglian Water is carrying out work on the water system, including installing new pipework and flushing the system. We understand that further testing of the water will then take place, and we are awaiting an update on when the supply can safely be used again.

We are monitoring the situation closely and will update families as soon as we receive further information from Anglian Water.

Please be assured that we will reopen Whitelands only when we are satisfied that it is safe and appropriate to do so.

Thank you for your understanding, patience and continued support.

04/09/2026

Our first week back, in two very different snapshots.

Some of our students got stuck into camouflage printing, with an environmental theme running through it. Bold colours, careful patterns and a fair bit of thinking about the natural world along the way.

And in the sensory room, a different kind of week. Quieter, slower, exactly what some of our young people needed as they found their feet again.

We don't always separate these two out as "the fun bit" and "the important bit." Here, they're the same thing.

A good first week, in its own way. 💛

03/09/2026

New term, new routines and a lot for young shoulders to carry.

If this week has felt harder than you expected, you're not imagining it - and you're not alone. Wobbles are normal right now both for your child and for you.

We've put together some small tips to help this first week feel a little gentler.

Swipe through and please know that we're right here alongside you.

27/08/2026

A few weeks before school returns for autumn, one of our team starts doing something small - but it makes a real difference.

Katie Adams - Operational Lead (AP - Therapeutic) here at Hatfield Wick, starts talking about school differently with the young people she works with in these last weeks of summer. Not "you're going back soon," but smaller and lighter - I wonder what your teacher's doing today. No pressure in it, just a thread kept open.

A few things she does in these final weeks:

- Mentions school casually and often, without turning it into a big conversation
- Drives past the school, or visits if that's possible, before the first day back
- Brings wake-up times and morning routines back gradually, rather than all at once on day one
- Puts regulation before expectations - if a child's overwhelmed, the routine can wait. Helping them feel safe can't
- Reminds families if they qualify for free school meals, they may also be eligible for free holiday clubs in these final weeks - worth checking with Essex Activate: https://www.activeessex.org/children-young-people/essex-activate/

It doesn't have to be a perfect summer to be a good one.

26/08/2026

Did you catch Clay Calder on BBC Essex this morning?

Our Director of Education spoke to BBC Essex about something we believe in deeply: that a long-term place in alternative provision can be exactly what a child needs to thrive, rather than a sign something has gone wrong.

Have a listen to the interview below, where Clay shares his own journey into this work - and why Hatfield Wick's approach is built around helping children feel safe, seen and heard. 🎧

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m003089z

BBC Essex BBC Sounds

Ben asks whether we should accept Wethersfield base housing asylum seekers.

20/08/2026

We heard a genuinely good tip this week - and it starts with tidying up!

Vannessa Jackson-Smith, Therapeutic Learning Instructor at Hatfield Wick, shared how her approach has changed as her children have grown: she and her family now plan the week's activities together, with a "down day" built in between busier ones, so nothing drains the day that follows.

A few ideas worth sharing:

- Let your children help choose the week's activities, then build the days around what they pick.
- Keep a few favourite activities within easy reach - Lego, board games, drawing - so they can be picked up without needing you to set them up.
- Tidy together first. It's easier to choose from things you can actually see.

Small things. But the kind that make a home easier for everyone to be in over summer.

13/08/2026

One of our team drew her whole family's day onto the garden window in chalk pen - and it's honestly such a good idea.

When routine disappears over the holidays, a lot of kids lose their footing with it - especially the ones who find not knowing what's coming next the hardest part of any day.

Katie Curtis - Operational Lead (AP - Education) at Hatfield Wick, told us what's been working for her own family this summer: she just puts the day up where everyone can see it. Chalk pen, straight onto the window - breakfast, activities, meals, downtime - and she rubs it out and rewrites it whenever plans change.

Some tips worth borrowing:

- Get the day up somewhere visible - a window, a whiteboard, whatever you've got
- Use a timer for screen time so the countdown does the arguing for you
- Try to keep mealtimes roughly the same, even if nothing else is
- Give a heads-up before something changes, rather than after

None of it's complicated. But it's often the bit that turns a wobbly day into a manageable one.