The London Centre for Children with Cerebral Palsy is the operating name for The Peter Rigby Trust, a registered charitable company. It was first established as The Hornsey Trust for Handicapped Children in 1963 by Peter Rigby, then Mayor of Hornsey, and latterly became The Hornsey Trust for Children with Cerebral Palsy.
Its aim initially was to provide education, training and leisure activities for people with learning difficulties. The Hornsey Centre was officially opened in 1967 by its Royal Patron, HRH Princess Alexandra and provided a number of day centre type services for young people up to the age of 25 with a range of disabilities. Over the years, these services became more focused on providing support to children with cerebral palsy.
In 1988, in response to parental demand, The Hornsey Trust incorporated conductive education into its work for children with cerebral palsy. It raised significant funds to extend its facilities and opened the Conductive Education Centre.
Focussing initially on pre-school children and their parents, the Centre soon added a full-time nursery for 3 to 5 year olds and a school group for children aged 5 to 7 years. In February 1999 the Centre achieved Department for Education and Employment (now the Department for Children, Schools and Families) Approved School status as an independent special school for children up to the age of seven, (Key Stage 1 of the National Curriculum). In 2007, it extended its school provision to Key Stage 2 of the National Curriculum, for children up to the age of eleven.
The London Centre is the only organisation of its kind in London. The Centre also established a training service for:
- parents
- schools
- teachers
- learning support assistants
- other professionals working with children with cerebral palsy in mainstream settings.
It also ran block sessions and Summer Schools.
Over the past 45 years, The London Centre’s services have evolved and developed. These services now include:
Our Values
Committed to Conductive Education
Pioneering in our approach
Encouraging to children, families and staff
Enthusiastic about the services we provide
Continuously learning about what we do
Supportive of those around us