Seashell Trust (formerly Royal Schools for the Deaf) is a

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Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is withi ...

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, for children, young people and adults with sensory impairment, profound and multiple learning difficulties, and profound communication difficulties. It is the oldest deaf children's charity in

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and operates Royal School Manchester and Royal College Manchester, as well as children and adult care and residential homes including a supported tenancy.

Schools

The Trust's special school is called Royal School Manchester, the Trust's independent specialist college SCis Royal College Manchester. In addition, the Trust also operates ten adult care homes and seven children's homes.

History

The original school was established in 1823 by Robert Phillips, a

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

merchant, with the assistance of fellow merchant William Bateman. It attained its royal status by Queen

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in 1897, and

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was its patron. It first opened in

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

in 1825, with 14 children, but it became necessary to move to a larger building, in

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wembl ...

, where the foundation stone was laid in 1836. It opened on 21 June 1837. Manchester Blind Asylum and Deaf and Dumb School 1838

The school remained there until 1956, when a new campus was built in Cheadle Hulme. The school in Trafford remained open until 1982 and the charity now operates solely from the one site. The name was changed to Seashell Trust in 2008 because the former one (Royal Schools for the Deaf) was "misleading", according to governors. In 2020, the Trust sold the

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land it owned adjoining the school to housing developer

Bloor Homes Bloor Homes is an English housebuilder based in Measham, Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the nort ...

.Seashell sells land to fund special needs school
Place North West, 8 June 2020

Deafness impairment

The reference to deafness in the name of the school had become obsolete because an increasing number of the students enrolled had communication difficulties but were normally hearing. In particular, the Seashell Trust had developed considerable expertise in working with normally hearing autistic students. The deaf students now admitted by Seashell all have very complex additional needs, including visual impairments, physical difficulties and low general ability.

Nomenclature

The Seashell Trust as a charity is effectively the parent body of the former Royal School for the Deaf and Communication Disorders. In changing the name of the school, it was decided to make a clear distinction between its school and its college (which occupy different parts of the campus). It was also decided to remove the reference to disability in the name. The school accepts students from preschool through to 19 years. The college runs a three-year programme, usually commencing when a student is 19 years old.

References

External links

* {{authority control Private schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport Special schools in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport Charities based in Greater Manchester Educational institutions established in 1823 1823 establishments in England Further education colleges in Greater Manchester Education in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport Deafness charities Schools for the deaf Organisations based in Stockport