Swale Tutoring Service

SEMH-led SEND tuition for Kent's hardest-to-place children

High-intensity, EHCP-funded packages delivered where children live — across Swale, the Isle of Sheppey and the wider county. Safeguarding-first. Named operators, not a call centre.

Discuss a placement Request our prospectus

What we do

We provide one-to-one, SEMH-led tuition for children whose education plans name off-school provision (EOTAS) — children for whom anxiety, school refusal, exclusion or trauma have made mainstream impossible.

But it's one service, not "a tutor": the tuition is delivered as a structured reintegration programme — the method is what you're commissioning. Our model is built for this, not retro-fitted from classroom tutoring. Every placement is structured, reviewed and evidenced, and works toward a planned return, not open-ended supply — so the commissioning authority can see exactly what it is paying for.

The 12-week reintegration cycle

Every placement runs as a structured 12-week cycle, delivered 1:1 around the child:

  1. Weeks 1–4

    Engage

    Re-establish trust, routine and a learning relationship; baseline with Boxall-informed targets.

  2. Weeks 5–8

    Re-engage

    Rebuild academic confidence and emotional regulation; begin school and EHCP-plan liaison.

  3. Weeks 9–12

    Reintegrate

    Attendance building, transition planning, and a structured hand-back or agreed next-step plan.

You receive evidence of engagement and progress at each stage, and a clear planned exit. For a commissioner that means accountability and a lower total cost per child — provision that works toward a return rather than running open-ended.

Our specialism: SEMH

Our primary specialism is social, emotional and mental health — anxiety, school refusal, exclusion, behavioural needs and trauma-informed practice. It's grounded in our founder's 26-year career in SEMH provision design and teacher training, not bolted on.

We also take children with other primary needs (autism, complex SEND) where our approach fits — recognising that most AP-funded children have overlapping needs, and SEMH-informed practice serves them well.

Led by a named, experienced practitioner

Portrait of Shelley Wilson, Founder of Swale Tutoring Service

Shelley Wilson · Founder

A 26-year SEMH educator. She set up and led the KS2 Reintegration project at KCC's Alternative Education Service in Maidstone (2014–2016), has been Head of an independent SEN school, set up and led a mainstream Specialist Resource Provision unit, and has worked with disengaged secondary students at Oasis Academy Sheerness and most recently at Meadowfield SEN School. Nurture Group Network and Boxall Profile qualified.

When you ring Swale, you get a person whose name is on the door — not a routing system.

Why commissioners choose Swale

  • Local. Kent-domiciled, serving the patch we live in. We don't sub-contract to national agencies. Caseworkers can ring us and we answer.
  • Sheppey-engaged. We actively serve the Isle of Sheppey — a geography most providers avoid. A deliberate niche, not an accident.
  • Safeguarding-first. Current DBS Update Service for every tutor, a named DSL function, and KCSiE-aligned practice. We welcome inspection.
  • Named-operator quality. Real, accountable people — Shelley Wilson (Founder) and Warren Wilson (Co-director) — not an anonymous agency.
  • Direct and responsive. We talk to parents, schools, caseworkers and EHCP coordinators directly. We don't hide behind portals.

Track record

  • A direct, KCC-approved supplier of EHCP-funded tuition since 2024, with an unblemished billing record.
  • Swale Tutoring Service Ltd — incorporated 2023, trading since 2019.
  • Currently delivering high-intensity EOTAS packages to EHCP-funded children on the Isle of Sheppey.

Coverage

Swale-rooted — Sittingbourne, the Isle of Sheppey and Faversham — and available Kent-wide, with deliberate reach into underserved areas.

Have a child who needs placing?

Let's talk. We respond quickly and directly.

Discuss a placement Request our prospectus