Olive Tree Small School

We are collecting nappies, baby wipes, toiletries and formula for Tiny Owls Baby Home. Please support this amazing cause.

World Book Day fun at our small school.

A family beach clean up and some seed planting for Earth Day today 🌎.

What do you do in a heatwave? You build solar ovens and make s'mores of course.

We've had a lovely week celebrating and practicing friendship and kindness at our small school. We baked red velvet biscuits, which were a big hit and enjoyed some abstract art and painting with watercolours. We finished off the week with a friendship picnic in the garden.

We love books and reading at Olive Tree Small School. Sharing books and playing reading games with a reading buddy is one of the children's favourite parts of their day.

One of our favourite days at Olive Tree Small School.....pizza making day. We listened to Italian music whilst making the dough and learned some greetings in Italian. La pizza è buonissima🍕 🇮🇹

I needed these special words today, written by one of our past parents, to remind myself of the important role my small school plays in the lives of the amazing children who come here. Thank you Hayley Cunningham.

Haley Cunningham

I remember sitting and wondering if a school really makes a difference. If my child has a different ability from other children - would the school really be able to change that?
Well, I’ll tell you what I've learned.

I have learned that there was nothing to change, I have learned that a school’s job is not to change your child or their abilities. Through the most incredible time at Olive Tree Small School - I have learned the potential of what a school could be. I have learned that my child wasn’t given to me to change but to embrace, nurture, and love. I have learned that through our journey of finding a school that celebrates a child’s wins, treasures their perspective, acknowledges their struggles, and allows a child to be who they are without trying to mould them into a box - being uniquely human is the biggest gift of all. I have learned to be a better parent, and I will never be able to express the gratitude I feel for this life lesson.

I’m not the same person I was before having my son, I’m not the same person I was when I tried to force him to be on par with children his age using tests and scores that have been archaically designed. I am a better person because of the journey my son has taken me on, and I am eternally thankful that I found a school that opened my eyes - so I could see the beauty of who my child is and not who I needed him to be.

Thank you to Sue for being not only a teacher to Jack but for being his comfort and safe place. Thank you for cultivating a school that made me question everything I knew about the education system - thank you for being exactly what we needed, when we needed it.
As we depart on our new journey, I without a doubt know that we will be better people because of you and your school.
Olive Tree Small School

Thank you to Manuela at cheeky monkey photography for the lovely school photos in the garden again this year. Just love them!!