About The Becklands School & Millbrook Horizons
The Becklands School is an independent special school in East Yorkshire for children and young people with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs, including pupils with a diagnosis of autism spectrum condition. We are registered with the Department for Education and inspected by Ofsted. We have two sites, the Becklands in Market Weighton and Millbrook Horizons in Holme on Spalding Moor.
Our pupils are placed with us by local authorities and hold Education, Health and Care Plans. Many arrive having found previous school settings difficult, with gaps in their learning and, often, a lowered sense of what they are capable of. Our work is to rebuild both.
Our registration
- Unique Reference Number: 148767
- DfE registration number: 811/6023
- Registered age range: 11 to 18
- Registered number of pupils: 30
- Gender: mixed
- Day school — we do not provide boarding
- Proprietor: The Becklands School Ltd (company number 12659194)
- Registered office: Unit 18, Becklands Park Industrial Estate, York Road, Market Weighton, YO43 3GA
- Dual Site: we are dual site registered having our main site, Becklands School in Market Weighton and Millbrook Horizons in Holme On Spalding Moor.
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. These proposed changes are subject to approval by the Secretary of State for Education. Until approval is received, we continue to operate within our existing registered age range and capacity.
Who we are for
We work with children and young people whose social, emotional and mental health needs mean that a mainstream setting has not met them well. That includes pupils who have experienced placement breakdown, extended absence from education, anxiety-based school avoidance, or whose behaviour has been misread rather than understood.
We are a small school by design. Group sizes are kept low so that every pupil is known well by the adults around them, and so that support can be adjusted quickly when a young person’s needs change.
Our two sites
The Becklands School operates across two sites under a single registration, with one curriculum, one leadership structure and the same expectations of every pupil.
Market Weighton — main site
Unit 18, Becklands Park Industrial Estate, York Road, Market Weighton, YO43 3GA
Classroom-based education, targeted intervention, pastoral support and preparation for future pathways.
Millbrook Horizons — satellite site
Millbrook Grange, Station Lane, Holme upon Spalding Moor, YO43 4AL
An extensive rural setting where pupils extend their learning through practical, vocational and experiential opportunities, including outdoor pursuits, animal and equine learning, horticulture, forestry, bushcraft and woodwork.
Our vision
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. We adapt the pathway. We do not lower the ambition.
Everything we do is built around seven commitments:
- Safeguarding futures. Every pupil at The Becklands is safe, listened to and able to ask for help.
- High expectations, held consistently. Pupils work towards the highest qualification they are capable of, not the one that is easiest to deliver.
- A meaningful curriculum. Learning that is worth doing, taught from each pupil’s actual starting point.
- Independence and life skills. Practical capability, decision making and self-care, built in from the first term.
- Wellbeing at the core. Mental health and emotional regulation are part of the curriculum, not a separate service.
- Bespoke therapeutic support. Intervention shaped around the individual and reviewed honestly.
- Strong partnerships. With parents and carers, placing authorities, health, social care and our local community.
Our approach
Our practice is relational and trauma-informed and relational 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.
Every pupil is baseline assessed on entry alongside an SEMH profile, so that teaching starts from where they actually are. Progress is tracked against each pupil’s own starting point as well as national expectations, and reported honestly to families and placing authorities.
We work closely with parents, carers, therapists, social care and health colleagues, and to each pupil’s Education, Health and Care Plan.
Curriculum and qualifications
Our curriculum combines academic learning, emotional and social development, independence and life skills, and preparation for adulthood. Accreditation pathways include GCSE, BTEC, Functional Skills and ASDAN, alongside British Horse Riding Society, and other Outdoor Studies currently accredited by AQA and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
Leadership and governance
- Proprietor: The Becklands School Ltd, represented by Vicky Simpson
- Chair of Governors: Mike Stathers
- Headteacher/Operations Director & DSL: Claire Horsfield
- Head of Site, Market Weighton & DDSL: Jenna Custable
- Head of Site, Millbrook & SENCO & DDSL: Becky Thomas
- Head of Operations, Millbrook: Danielle Kenington
- Executive Board: Michael Watts and Luke Gomersall
Our governing board holds overarching responsibility for governance, with safeguarding and child protection at the forefront of its work. Monitoring is delegated at times to individual governors.
Ofsted
The Becklands School was judged Good in all areas at its most recent full standard inspection in January 2025.
Admissions
Placements at The Becklands School are made by local authorities through the Education, Health and Care Plan consultation process. We welcome enquiries from placing authorities, parents and carers, and from professionals supporting a young person and you can contact us to find out about our open days.
To discuss a placement, contact the school office on 01430 338569 or email [email protected].
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