Pivot Group

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I felt I was in the right place

Calm. Safe. Connected. That is how every Pivot classroom feels.

Young people arrive at Pivot with many different stories. Some have been out of education for months or years. Some are rebuilding after trauma or loss. All are looking for a place where they belong.

Pivot is a specialist education provider for children and young people aged 5–18 with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs, with schools in Leeds and Kirklees. We build trust before timetables. Because when trust grows, learning follows.

Find out if Pivot is right for my child
Pivot

Three ways to get in touch

See Pivot academy for yourself and meet the team.

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For local authorities and professionals placing a student.

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See current vacancies and join our team.

Work With Us

For Local Authorities

We know how much it takes to place a child’s future in someone else’s hands. We work to earn that trust every day.

We work with local authorities across Yorkshire and Humberside. Transparent outcomes. Co-designed provision. A partner that shows up. We succeed when children succeed.

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For Parents & Carers

For the first time, it felt like somewhere that truly understood what my child needed.

That is what Dawn, a Pivot parent, told us. We hear it again and again. When families visit, something shifts. Come and see why.

Find Out if Pivot Is Right for My Child

Because children deserve better.

Not as a policy or a slogan. As a daily practice. One decision, one conversation, one act of belief at a time.

Pivot began with children who had been told they did not fit. Families who had run out of options. Staff who still believed something better was possible. That is still who we are.

Learning does not begin with targets or tests. It begins when a young person feels seen, heard and valued. Our role is not to fix children, but to understand them. To give time, consistency and space to rebuild trust.

Read the Charter 2030 About Pivot

Pivot Charter 2030

Stories That Shape Us.

Every classroom looks different. The feeling is always the same.

"I found the right place for me."

Reggie, current learner

"For the first time, it feels like everything is going to be okay."

Dawn, parent

"It's the place that helped me believe in myself again."

Millie, former learner, now studying animal care at college

Behind every number is a young person finding their way back to learning.

They are not targets. They are signals. They tell us where to act next.

82%

EHCP targets met or exceeded

100%

Leavers confirmed into education, training or employment

~90%

EBSA attendance recovery from 0% → ~90%

96%

GCSE English pass rate

90%

GCSE Maths pass rate

180+

Staff since 2020 (from 49)

Our Outcomes & Impact

Our Schools

Two specialist academies. One shared purpose. Every learner found their place.

Pivot has specialist schools in Leeds and Kirklees. Both hold ‘Significant Strength in Leadership and Management’, the highest grading under ISI inspection.

Each school is small enough to know every learner by name, and structured enough to move them forward.

Explore Our Schools

Pivot Leeds

Specialist SEMH provision for learners aged 5–18.

Four buildings in east Leeds, Venture, Links 3, Links 4 and Elevate. Therapeutic, nurture-based provision for learners with autism, EBSA, complex social interaction needs and emotional challenges.

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Aerial view of the Kirklees Pivot Academy building, with its front car park and a main road running behind it

Pivot Kirklees

Specialist SEMH provision for learners aged 5–18.

Therapeutic, nurture provision for neurodiverse learners across Kirklees. Extended through Salus House, the Pivot Outreach Programme (POP) , Bradford and Wakefield.

Visit Pivot Kirklees Book a Visit

How we work

What we do

We create futures through belonging.

We help young people re-engage with learning, rebuild confidence and prepare for what comes next, college, training, employment and independent life.

How we do it

We build trust before we build timetables.

Pivot didn’t begin with buildings or timetables. We listen first. We adapt to each learner. We create calm, consistent spaces where growth feels possible. Our stage-not-age curriculum responds to each learner's starting point.

Why we do it

Because children deserve better.

Not as a policy or a slogan. As a daily practice. One decision, one conversation, one act of belief at a time.

Our Approach

PivotLife

This is what belonging looks like.

Learner voice. Creative projects. Activities, celebrations and staff stories. PivotLife is our window into the everyday, the moments that do not make the headlines but are the reason everything else works.

Explore PivotLife

Newsroom

Where Pivot speaks, about what we know, what we believe, and what we are building.

News from our schools. Thought leadership on SEND reform. Research, press releases and the conversations that matter for the future of specialist education.

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Make a difference every day.

People are not part of the work at Pivot. They are the work.

You will work with young people who have often been failed elsewhere. The difference you make here is real and visible, every single day. We invest in the people who make that possible.

Funded qualifications. Leadership development. Trauma-informed training. Coaching and wellbeing support. Clear progression routes. And a team that genuinely looks after one another.

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Trust, safeguarding and governance

Built on transparency. Accountable to the families and communities we serve.

Carnegie Mental Health Gold Award. ISI ‘Significant Strength’ grading, highest available, at both schools. Registered with the Department for Education. Affiliated with the Independent Schools Association.

Our safeguarding, governance and policy frameworks are publicly available. We work in open partnership with local authorities, because accountability is not a burden. It is part of how trust is built.

Safeguarding Policies Inspection Reports

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Learner achievements. Creative projects. Moments from our schools in Leeds and Kirklees, every day.