Welcome to The Becklands School & Millbrook Horizons
Specialist education for children and young people with SEMH needs
The Becklands School, including Millbrook Horizons, is an independent, DfE-registered special school for children and young people with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs.
We are dual site registered and across our Market Weighton main site and our Millbrook satellite site, we combine academic learning and recognised qualifications with emotional development, practical learning, independence and preparation for adulthood.
Believe.Inspire.Achieve
SEMH needs don’t lower the ceiling. They change the route.
Many of our pupils arrive having already been told, directly or not, what they will not manage in education. They have been the pupil who was moved on, the one whose place broke down, the one whose file is thicker than their exercise book. Somewhere along the way, the expectation dropped.
We don’t accept that. Having SEMH needs does not mean a child is capable of less. It means they learn differently, respond differently, and need us to work differently. The job is ours, not theirs — to find the way in, adapt how we teach, and keep the ambition where it should have been all along.
Every pupil here is good at something. Sometimes it is obvious on day one. More often it takes months of patience before we find the thing that makes a young person sit up. When we find it, we build around it, because confidence in one area is what makes a pupil willing to risk being a learner again in all the others.
We adapt the pathway. We do not lower the ambition.
The Becklands offer
Every placement is built from the same foundations, then shaped around the individual.
- A curriculum built from their starting point, not their year group. Every pupil is baseline assessed on entry alongside an SEMH profile. We teach from where they actually are and close the gaps deliberately.
- The highest qualification they are capable of. GCSE, BTEC, Functional Skills and ASDAN. Where a pupil can work towards GCSEs, they do. We do not default to the lower pathway because it is easier to deliver.
- Small groups and staff who know them. Every pupil has adults who understand their history, their triggers, their interests and what a good day looks like for them.
- Pastoral and therapeutic support as part of the offer, not an add-on. All staff are trained in trauma informed practices, attachment and trauma, ASD, ADHD and a wide range of neurodiversity and SEND needs. We implement that into a robust whole school pastoral and relational approach including having ELSA trained staff. We work closely with families, therapists, social care and health colleagues to have a holistic approach to supporting students.
- Learning outside the classroom that counts. Millbrook Horizons outdoor learning site, Duke of Edinburgh all form part of the curriculum rather than rewards or filler.
- Preparation for adulthood from the start. Independence, life skills and transition planning are built in from a pupil’s first term, not bolted on in Year 11.
- A plan that is theirs. Every pupil holds an Education, Health and Care Plan. We work to it, review it honestly, and tell families the truth about progress.
Understanding SEMH needs
Positive relationships are central to our approach. We recognise that behaviour is a form of communication, and we work to understand what is driving a pupil’s presentation while maintaining clear expectations, appropriate boundaries and a safe environment for everyone.
Through consistent relationships, individual support and carefully planned education, pupils develop the emotional regulation, resilience and confidence to take a fuller part in their learning and in life beyond school.
Safeguarding
Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people is central to everything we do. All staff share responsibility for creating an environment in which pupils feel safe, listened to and able to ask for help.
Our safeguarding arrangements operate across both sites under a single Designated Safeguarding Lead, with a deputy designated safeguarding lead based at each site so that a trained safeguarding lead is always available where pupils are.
- Designated Safeguarding Lead (whole school): Claire Horsfield
- Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead, Market Weighton: Jenna Constable
- Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead, Millbrook: Becky Thomas
If you have a concern about the safety or welfare of a child at our school, please contact the school office on 01430 338569 and ask to speak to a designated safeguarding lead for that site or Claire Horsfield.
Developing The Becklands School
The Becklands School is currently seeking Department for Education approval to extend our registered age range to include pupils in Years 5 and 6, and to increase our registered capacity to 50 pupils across our Market Weighton and Millbrook sites.
These proposed changes are subject to approval by the Secretary of State for Education. Until approval is received, The Becklands School continues to operate within its existing registered age range and capacity.