Maple Hayes Hall School

What Maple Hayes Hall School does

Maple Hayes Hall School is an independent specialist day school located on a 200-acre estate in Lichfield, Staffordshire, founded in 1982 by Dr Neville Brown and his late wife Brenda Brown. It serves children aged 7-16 (and into sixth form) with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties (SpLD), most of whom are placed by 16 Midlands Local Authorities under Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), with a small tail of private placements. The school is the UK's only government-approved specialist school for SpLD under Section 41 of the 2014 Children & Families Act, regulated by the Education Funding Agency, which gives it a privileged position in the public commissioning pipeline for SEND provision.

The school's core product is a proprietary morphological literacy-teaching method (the "Icon Method"), developed by Dr Neville Brown from his doctoral research in psycholinguistics. Rather than teaching through phonics, the method uses a system of visual icons to build links between meaning and spelling at the morpheme level, supplemented by kinaesthetic cursive writing with fountain pens. This teaching IP underpins a full GCSE-accredited curriculum across English, Maths, Science, Geography, Art, Music, Design Technology, PE and PSHE, plus an extracurricular programme. The school has educated over 1,000 pupils since 1982, with recent cohorts achieving 24-33% of pupils attaining 5+ GCSEs at grade 4+, and 76-80% passing English specifically.

The business model is a B2G/B2C tuition model: per-pupil annual placements are funded primarily by local authorities under EHCPs (capped at approximately £60,000 per year under recent government policy), with a small number of privately funded placements and bursaries provided by the Neville Brown Foundation. Go-to-market is relationship-driven — local-authority SEN teams, parent word-of-mouth, open days, trial weeks, and an inbound website (dyslexia.school) with video resources. The school is family-owned (Dr Neville Brown and The Brenda Brown Trust), with no external private equity or parent company, and is currently led by Dr Neville Brown as Principal, Dr Daryl Brown as Co-Principal, and David Lowe as Headteacher (the first non-family Headteacher, appointed September 2023).

Name

Maple Hayes Hall School

Legal name

Maple Hayes Hall School

Website

https://dyslexia.school

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Maple Hayes Hall School is an independent UK specialist school in Lichfield serving dyslexic children aged 7-16, funded primarily by Midlands Local Authorities via EHCPs and built around a proprietary icon-based morphological literacy method developed by founder Dr Neville Brown.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lichfield

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. EHC Plan Funded Placements: The school receives funding from Local Authorities for pupils placed under Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). Almost all pupils have statements or EHC plans and are placed by 16 Midlands Local Authorities. The school is approved under Section 41 of the 2014 Children & Families Act as an independent special school regulated by the Education Funding Agency.
2. Private Placements: A small number of pupils are placed privately by their parents rather than through local authority funding.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Maple Hayes Hall School delivers specialist day-school education for pupils aged 7-16 with dyslexia and specific learning difficulties (SpLD), centered on a proprietary morphological (Icon Method) approach to literacy developed by founder Dr Neville Brown. The school offers a full GCSE-accredited curriculum across core academic, creative, and personal development subjects, alongside extracurricular activities, with nearly all placements funded by local authorities through Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.

Product overview

Maple Hayes Hall School is a specialized independent day school for dyslexic students aged 7-16 that operates as a single unified educational institution. The school centers its offering on the proprietary Morphological Teaching Approach—a unique icon-based literacy method developed by Dr Neville Brown that diverges from traditional phonics instruction. This core methodology underpins the entire educational experience, supported by a comprehensive GCSE-accredited curriculum spanning core academic subjects (English, Maths, Science) and humanities (Geography, History), creative arts (Art, Music, Design Technology), and personal development (PE, PSHE). The school supplements its academic programs with extensive extracurricular activities including sports, arts, and music, alongside video resources for parents, forming a holistic educational ecosystem designed to transform the lives of dyslexic learners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Specialist Dyslexia Day School Education Full-time specialist day-school education for pupils aged 7-16 with dyslexia and specific learning difficulties (SpLD), delivered on a 200-acre campus in Lichfield and centered on the proprietary morphological Icon Method developed by Dr Neville Brown. Nearly all placements are commissioned by local authorities under EHCPs.
• GCSE Education Program Secondary academic program enabling pupils to achieve GCSE qualifications in subjects including English, Maths, Science, Geography, Art, and Design Technology, taught through the school's morphological approach and tailored for dyslexic learners.
• Extracurricular Activities Program Wide range of out-of-school activities for pupils including subject clubs, dance, table tennis, football, athletics, cross country, art, craft, music, horse riding, and piano lessons, complementing the academic curriculum.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 pupils educated since 1982, with many achieving 7+ GCSEs and pursuing higher education
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Fonua UKminorOthers · 20 March 2025Fonua UK, a specialist in mobile phones, accessories, and consumer electronics, donated iPads to Maple Hayes Dyslexia School. The donation provides students with tools to develop essential digital skills across the curriculum and serves as assessment tools to capture evidence of pupil progress.
• HCB SolicitorsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 22 February 2024HCB Solicitors partners with Maple Hayes to host informational events helping parents navigate the EHC Plan process. The HCB Education Team has years of experience representing parents of SEN children and has assisted in securing over 1,000 places at independent specialist schools through special educational needs tribunals.
• Pets As TherapyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 July 2023Pets As Therapy is a national charity that enhances health and wellbeing through animal-assisted therapy. The school has hosted visits from therapy dogs and raised funds for the charity through prize-giving events, donating £1360 in 2023.
• Neville Brown FoundationcoreOthersThe Foundation provides bursaries to families in financial need, exemplifying the school's commitment to ensuring no child is left behind due to financial constraints.
• RBSA (Royal Birmingham Society of Arts)minorOthersPupil James Doyle won first place in the RBSA Young Artist Prize in the 11-14 years category with his painting 'Nosey Man'. This was the first Young Artist Prize in the RBSA's 200-year-plus history.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Centre Academy London: Independent specialist school for pupils with dyslexia and SpLD, offering GCSE programmes with small-group, kinaesthetic teaching methods comparable to Maple Hayes's Icon-based delivery model.
• Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity: National charity providing dyslexia assessments, 1:1 and small-group tutoring, and teacher training - a complementary, non-school service model addressing the same pupil segment with many of the same referral channels (parents and local authorities).
• Abingdon House School: Independent specialist day schools in London focused on pupils with dyslexia and specific learning difficulties; competes for the same Section 41-approved EHCP-funded placements and parent demographic as Maple Hayes.
• Fairley House School: London-based independent day school specifically for pupils with dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties, using a teacher-intensive specialist model nearly identical to Maple Hayes - a like-for-like competitive alternative for parents and local authorities.

Broad incumbents

• Moor House School & College: Independent specialist day school and college in Surrey approved under Section 41 for children with speech, language and communication needs including dyslexia - similar specialist SEND independent school operating model but a different primary specialism.
• Treloar School: Long-established UK independent specialist SEND institution covering a broader range of disabilities; operates the same Section 41-approved, EHCP-commissioned model as Maple Hayes but with a wider disability remit.

Others

• British Dyslexia Association: National dyslexia membership, training and advocacy body that shapes commissioning guidance and accredits specialist practitioners - an ecosystem participant influencing the referral pipeline into Maple Hayes rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/maple-hayes-hall-school

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Maple Hayes Hall School