Main Site (Bottesford)
Welcome from Head of School, Amy Richardson:
The Bottesford site is the main school of The Place Independent School, supporting children from Year 1 to Year 8 (approximately ages 5–14). Placement is always guided by a child’s development, emotional readiness, and individual need, rather than age alone. Our aim is to create a safe, happy, and nurturing school experience for children who may have found education difficult in the past, particularly those with SEN, SEMH needs, anxiety, trauma, or school-based avoidance.
Set in the rural countryside of Bottesford, the school is surrounded by open space, nature, and fresh air, with beautiful views overlooked by Belvoir Castle. This calm, natural environment plays a vital role in supporting emotional regulation and wellbeing, offering children the space and quiet they often need to feel safe, settled, and ready to learn.
Learning here is play-based, creative, and child-led, especially for our younger learners. We use cross-curricular topics that spark curiosity and make learning meaningful, while our curriculum remains rooted in the National Curriculum and thoughtfully adapted to suit each child. Learning might happen through stories, role play, outdoor exploration, art, discussion, or hands-on experiences—always at a pace that feels achievable and positive. We place a strong emphasis on PSHE (through Jigsaw, SPOT, and our own pathways), helping children to understand themselves, build relationships, and develop confidence in who they are.
Classes are intentionally small, with 3–6 children per class, depending on age, stage, and need. Relationships are central to everything we do, and many children benefit from our dedicated Nurture Unit, which provides 1:1 and 2:1 support in a calm, predictable space. This allows children who need additional emotional safety or regulation support to engage with learning in a way that feels right for them.
Animals are a much-loved and important part of daily life. We have a wide range of animals who help support emotional regulation, responsibility, empathy, and connection. Alongside this, we offer excellent facilities, including a full-sized MUGA for sports and physical play and a ménage for horse riding. Movement, outdoor learning, and animal interaction are naturally woven into the school day to support wellbeing as well as learning.
We take great care to support children with routines around food and social time. We offer a Breakfast Club to help children start the day calmly which is rooted into sensory circuits and OT focussed movement specific to the child through their 'My Plan', break-time snacks and activities (made with a dietician), and lunch served together in our school hall or outdoor pavilion. These shared moments help children build independence, social skills, and a sense of belonging within the school community.
Each week, children enjoy two enrichment sessions, where learning extends beyond the classroom and into the wider community. These experiences are shaped by children’s interests and may include trampolining, Bounce Planet, cinema trips, cafés, garden centres, ice skating, music experiences, or visits linked to special interests such as space centres. Enrichment is about joy, confidence, and showing children that learning happens everywhere.
Creativity is celebrated throughout the school. We are proud to have a fully equipped Performing Arts Centre, where children can take part in plays and performances across the year in ways that feel safe and inclusive. Our music provision is extensive, with external music specialists visiting weekly to offer opportunities for enjoyment, confidence-building, and, where appropriate, graded music exams.
We learn phonics through Read Write Inc, supporting children to become confident readers, and we truly love reading at Bottesford. Books, stories, and reading for pleasure are a valued part of everyday school life.
Each week, we come together for assemblies where we celebrate achievements, strengths, and progress—no matter how big or small—helping children to feel proud of who they are and what they can do.
Our main site at Bottesford is a very inclusive, very nurturing, and very child-centred school, where individuality is celebrated and differences are understood. We know that every child’s journey is unique, and we work flexibly, patiently, and compassionately to help each child feel safe, valued, and successful in school.
