Bognor Regis farm to pursue Ofsted registration in 2024

If the team is successful, an Ofsted registration will allow Crimsham Farm to expand on the funding and assets it already receives. A spokesperson said the facility will be formally recognised as a school catering specifically for children with “social, emotional and mental health issues as well as any formally diagnosed learning difficulty.”

Founded in 2019, Crimsham Farm already provides agricultural workshops for children with special educational needs, and support for armed forces veterans across Sussex, so staff believe Ofsted registration presents a natural next step.

The main site, they added, will comprise a main school, an IT suite, workshop facilities, breakout rooms and the farm itself, and they are projected to be able to provide for upwards of 50 students a day, with off-site activities and scope for community engagement.

This is in addition to plans to work with West Sussex County Council to introduce new provisions for children’s social care, focused on providing small family homes in which children with traumatic backgrounds have the space they need to “develop, succeed and flourish,” with support continuing well into adulthood.

The farm has also outlined plans to build a “state of the art” centre for adult learning designed to help adults with disabilities develop transferable skills in a safe, supportive environment.

Crimsham Farm staff are also set to benefit, with the CIC promising to increase staff salaries to double the industry standard, providing free medical and dental cover, low cost accommodation, and a thirty hour work week as standard. “By reducing external worries to zero, we will empower our staff to reach their full potential and devote their focus on delivering our aims without concerns from outside their roles.”

The news comes after a hugely successful 2023 for Crimsham Farm, which saw the organisation open Charlie Charlie One: a town centre venue featuring a cafe and warm spaces, open to the public but targeted at former and serving members of the Armed Forces.