Our Philosophy: Stronger Together
This is Hillside School - a 36 place SEMH provision opening September 2026 in Nottingham. We want to start more than just a school; we build a community, where relationships are built on restorative principles of trust and belonging.
This site is to share our journey as we grow from an empty building into a place where some of our most vulnerable young people can reach their full potential. If you believe education starts with connection, you might just feel at home here.
I mean, what’s in a name?
We are Hillside and we’re a building on the side of a hill. Not exactly rocket science. We didn’t even think this up ourselves – it was the name of the building when we bought it, and we couldn’t think up another option that suited it better. Let’s be honest - it’s 0 out of 10 for creativity.
Our company name on the other hand has far more meaning to us. We are Taura Education. Taura means rope in Māori and we got the idea from the an ancient story of the “Rope of many strands.”
The idea that a single strand can fray, but when woven together they become unbreakable (you see it in our logo).
You see, this isn’t just about education - this is about creating a sense of togetherness. Of belonging - and ultimately community. If this is something you’d like to be a part of then get in touch.
Board Room or Bored Room
Let's talk about the type of leader we are looking for at Hillside.
Would you like to have a board room like this? No? Me neither. In fact, board (or bored) rooms just aren’t our thing and do you know what – we're ok with that. What we're more passionate about is creating environments where relationships flourish, we can grow and develop (whether 14 or 40) and we can be ambitious about the level of impact we can have on the lives of some of the most vulnerable young people in our communities. We’re big on Restorative Practice and Hillside presents us with an opportunity to embed this at the centre of our practice.
This means less time spent on change management, Kotter’s 8 steps and persuading others to “get on board.” Instead, more time thinking about embedding best practice - to not only embrace cutting edge research but to play our part in shaping it. It’s bold and it’s ambitious and we’re ok with that too - in fact, we’re all over it. If you have a vision, you can articulate it and you want the opportunity to bring others along, then this might be the place for you. What are you waiting for?
Get in touch with us
Start a conversation.