Orbis Education and Care

Orbis Education and Care is a provider of schools, residential homes and facilities for children and adults with a diagnosis of autism based in Cardiff. It runs 16 schools, residential homes and facilities for children and adults in Wales and employs about 650 people.[1]

Lucy Pottinger is the head of education.

It opened a new facility in Port Talbot in 2016.[2]

It was founded by Andrew McCarthy in 2005. He sold it to August Equity for £28 million in 2017.[3] It bought Pembrokeshire Resource Centre, which trades as Bangeston Autism Care Services, and operates four sites in Pembrokeshire, in 2017.[4]

It commissioned classroom pods, specially designed for autistic pupils from the IAD Company in 2019. Six of the expandable structures were built at Ty Bronllys, near Brecon. They are designed to "help students at feel at ease with their surroundings and to promote the sense of going on an adventure every day, rather than to school.”[5]

It is planning to open a school and residential home which will accommodate 30 pupils with complex needs in Tewkesbury, its first facility in England, in 2019.[6]

References

edit
  1. ^ "ORBIS BRINGS IN FIRST COO". Insider Media. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  2. ^ "The Week Ahead: So what's Lucy Pottinger of Orbis Education and Care up to this week?". Wales online. 7 February 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  3. ^ "AUTISM CARE PROVIDER BOUGHT IN £28M DEAL". Insider Media. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  4. ^ "ORBIS EDUCATION AND CARE ACQUIRES BANGESTON AUTISM CARE SERVICES". BQ Live. 3 October 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Autistic pupils first to experience innovative new Pod classrooms". Building Better Healthcare. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Specialist autism school set to open and create 300 jobs". Punchline Gloucester. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.