The Hive Kent One Page Site

UK’s first national bespoke training, recreation and learning centre for young people and adults with special needs and/or disabilities

Now Open in Kent

The Hive, our state-of-the-art, fully accessible, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) facility is now open.

Founded in 2024, as a not for profit community interest company, The Hive is the first-of-its-kind national bespoke and fully accessible recreational, social, training and learning centre for children, young people and adults with SEND.

The Hive will also support the families, friends and carers of those with SEND, plus everyone who is attached to this community.

Together with our funders and supporters, we're looking forward to creating positive change and impacting lives in the community.

Introducing our Patron…

James Barnes-Miller

We are very pleased to announce that James Barnes-Miller has joined us as Patron of The Hive Thanet.

James is a British snowboarder from Thanet and competes in events for athletes with upper limb disabilities. He was the first ever Paralympic snowboarder to compete for Team GB.

James won the Crystal Globe as the overall World Cup snowboard cross leader in 2020. He won three medals in the delayed 2021 World Championships - silver and bronze individual medals in the snowboard cross and banked slalom events, as well as a bronze in the team snowboard cross event.

At Beijing 2022, James achieved his best place finish at a Paralympics where he won the snowboard cross small final, ranking fifth overall.

We are delighted to have James as our Patron. He will be able to give us plenty of guidance and advice, helping us on our mission to ensure that sport is accessible to all.

Fully Accessible Facilities

An FA standard full-size football pitch, full disability accessible changing facilities and FA standard dressing rooms. Also playing fields and athletic track to host a range of inclusive sports.

A bike track to train thousands of young people to learn to cycle, as part of a SEND bikeability training hub for the community.

Forest school and horticulture facilities offering courses in woodcraft, woodwork, camping skills, and outdoor learning activities, growing various fruits and vegetables.

A community kitchen and cafe, using fruits and vegetables from our horticulture school.

Education, training and workshop facilities providing multi-use learning area for lessons, sensory play, story-telling, music and drama activities along with training courses such as a bike repair qualification.