Odyssey
The Journey is Everything

Odyssey House School

Odyssey House School was created for pupils who need a bespoke, holistic and therapeutic education approach to help them learn and grow successfully. We are also able to support pupils who may have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

A small, nurturing education experience, tailored to the unique needs of every child, and designed to support pupils who struggle in mainstream schools

Having studied psychology and the vast experience of working within different education settings and across children’s services for several years, both the founders, Charu Kashyap and Shilpa Walia, agreed that there needed to be a change for children who are required to ‘fit in’ to the current education system. They decided to influence that change by starting Odyssey Education Services in 2019. They were supported on this journey by Judith Charlesworth who remains in an independent governance role with the school.

There is an ever-growing population of children and young people who struggle to cope with the way that education works within a mainstream setting. The large education environments, big group sizes and results focused curriculum delivery are counter-productive to creating a nurturing and personalised learning environment. Despite no fault on their part, these children and young people are often labelled as underachievers, and they are treated as problems to be managed instead of unique individuals to be understood. Shilpa and Charu knew it didn’t have to be that way – and it was out of their experience and understanding of needs of children with additional needs and within special education settings that Odyssey was born. The idea was simple. Create a safe, nurturing school environment where education was tailored around the needs of each child. Ensure smaller classes to allow for more personalised teaching and design a curriculum that was engaging enough to inspire, but flexible enough to meet the needs of every child.

The desire to reach out to every child and young person who could be supported by Odyssey, also led to the conception of the school transition (Nostos) and education re-engagement (IN2SCHOOL) programmes.

Bringing the vision to life was more of a challenge. But after years of hard work and dedication, and assembling a team of passionate and like-minded people, Odyssey House School opened its doors for the first time in 2019.

Putting pupils at the heart of everything we do