Kisharon Langdon – UK
The pressure to increase educational provision in the Barnet borough for pupils with a significant level of learning challenges has been mounting over the past decade, with demand outstripping supply.
In 2014 Barnet published a planning report forecasting the need for an additional 120 places for SEN children.
With 1 in 6 Barnet residents being Jewish and numbers also rising in neighbouring boroughs of Hertsmere, Haringey and Hackney, it became incumbent upon the community to respond.
Kisharon Langdon’s vision aims to meet this need, creating a world where people with learning difficulties, autism and their families have the same opportunities as their mainstream peers, via support from early years through education to employment and supported living.
Their new school on the Kisharon Wohl Campus in Hendon, opened in 2020 with support from the Wohl Legacy. It accommodates 72 pupils, doubling the capacity of the charity’s former building in Temple Fortune – and providing a state-of-the-art facility equipped to deliver a more focused, specialist Jewish education, which in turn will achieve better outcomes for pupils.
Following extensive research, the school has been designed to create comfortable learning areas which are free from stimuli that trigger behavioural challenge.
In addition, its increased capacity allows pupils to be grouped according to their particular need and level of ability – and creates an educational infrastructure which mitigates challenge and supports learning.
In 2023 Kisharon merged with learning disability and autism charity Langdon, another organisation the Wohl Legacy has been proud to support over the years.
Kisharon Langdon will see two leading charities working together to offer the best possible opportunities for the Jewish learning disability and autism community to thrive.
As a merged organisation, Kisharon Langdon will be better placed to facilitate seamless transitions for individuals at key educational stages and into employment opportunities.
