Crimsham Farm CIC

About

This is an independent alternative provider of education (IAP), which is part of the West Sussex County Council's Dynamic Purchasing System. If you would like to access IAP, please follow the Local Offer guide at Independent Alternative Provision.

As a fully inclusive provider of Alternative Education, Crimsham Farm has adapted a needs-led approach to learning. All of our methods of support have been identified, constructed and implemented, based entirely around the needs of the children and young people we have supported since our inception in 2019.

Crimsham Farm CIC was initially established in 2018 by one of our founding directors as a place where he and his colleagues from the Armed Forces could come camping, relax, and get away from the stresses of daily life. In 2019, after a discussion with the landlord, the woods were extended to include some animals, primarily pigs, chickens and goats. We paid a peppercorn rent and began to run clubs and activities for the public, in order to fund the care of the animals.

A chance encounter in Bognor Regis, lead to the first school age children accessing the site, and the rest is history. Utilising the skillset of Ex Forces personnel, who seek perfection in all they do, the team grew and expanded to include education professionals, bushcraft instructors, falconers, university graduates with animal management degrees and more. After 5 years of hard work, the company has now expanded to become one of the largest providers of Alternative Education in West Sussex, working with up to 50 children and young people on a daily basis, as well as providing Adult Learning, clubs for the general public, activities and events. We are also working alongside some of the largest, most well known military charities in the country, supporting Veterans of the Armed Forces and their families.

As a functioning farm, we do have areas that are currently not wheelchair accessible. We continue to work towards wheelchair accessibility, and would encourage further discussion with a member of the team to confirm any access arrangements prior to your visit.

What we do

• Provide Alternative Education for children and young people with the aim of; re engaging them back into mainstream education, providing them with a platform, skills and qualifications, vocational or otherwise, so that they are able to progress to further education or employment
• Working in partnership with West Sussex County Council and The Department For Education, we offer a range of skills-based courses to adults, working to improve mental health and wellbeing and, working to transfer the skills and tools that our team have developed to manage challenging behaviour in children, to parents and carers.
• We provide a huge amount of support to our Armed Forces Community and their families- we hold the Silver Award under the Armed Forces Covenant, have counselling services, signposting services, respite breaks, breakfast clubs, coffee shop drop in hubs and a whole arm of the business devoted entirely to helping you transition from military to civilian life, getting help for poor mental health and helping you support your family.
• Offer a range of publicly accessible events, activities and clubs for the whole community.
• Continue to look at ways to best serve our local community.

Age range

4-18

Free to use

No

Requires referral

Yes

Requires application

Yes