National SEND award for Maidenhead school is 'validation for 12 years of work'

The headteacher of an award-winning special education school near Maidenhead has said the recognition is ‘a little bit of validation for 12 years of hard work’.

Beech Lodge, in Stubbings Lane, has been named SEND [special educational needs and disabilities] School of the Year by the Independent Schools Association (ISA).

ISA, founded in 1874, brings together 770 private schools across the United Kingdom, of which 170 were under consideration for this year’s awards.

Headteacher Dan Gilespie said he was ‘very proud’ for Beech Lodge to have won the award which ‘shines a light on the quality and breadth of education we deliver at the school’.

“Our team here work tirelessly for our kids, so it's just really nice for them to have that peer recognition,” he added.

“It was a huge surprise, but an honour and really, a little bit of validation for 12 years of hard work.”

Since it opened in 2013, Beech Lodge has grown to have 76 pupils aged between eight and 17.

Mr Gilespie, 44, has worked there for the past seven years.

“The growth at Beech Lodge has been amazing,” he told the Advertiser.

“It's been such a privilege to be a part of that - we've expanded in size and number.”

He added: “It's just really nice to be able to be part of something that's making a real difference across education as well.”

A total of 20 SEND schools were considered for the ISA’s 2025 awards, with finalists announced at a ceremony in Warwickshire on November 11.

Judges said Beech Lodge stood out for its innovative measures aimed at helping pupils develop ‘confidence and responsibility’.

The school has introduced calming space for pupils called a Zen Den, where they can access touch-and-feel activities, breath work and sensory regulation.

Beech Lodge also runs a partnership with The Apprentice shop in Maidenhead High Street, where pupils develop work-related skills in a retail environment.

The initiative aims to give young people practical experience, confidence in interacting with the public and a sense of responsibility in a supported setting.

Mr Gilespie, who lives in Windsor and grew up in Marlow, began his career as a PE teacher before retraining in SEND a decade ago.

He said the school’s progress would continue as it looks to open another site in Woking in the coming years.

“Education shifts and turns and changes over time,” he said.

“Working with the children that we work with, we have to be as close to being one step ahead as we can be with them, so it's just about keeping that progression.

“We certainly won't be resting on our laurels, that's for sure.”

A statement on the ISA website said: “The pupils learn to transfer skills outside the Zen Den, creating calming spots and generating their own activities which help with self-regulation, allowing and improving learning.

“This process helps inform a values-based curriculum which develops confidence and responsibility.

“Some pupils even use their skills to work in the Apprentice shop in the town, which the school owns and runs.”