In the mid-1990s, musician and song-writer Sir Richard Stilgoe and neurologist Dr Michael Swallow started piloting music weeks for disabled people. These were so effective that Sir Richard decided to start a place where disabled people and students could work together for longer than a week – to change their own and other people’s lives by creating new music and performing in public. The Orpheus Centre opened in 1997 at Sir Richard's former family home in Godstone, Surrey.

Orpheus started with five disabled students who lived on-site, learning to cook, manage budgets, do laundry and go shopping. They also wrote songs, devised dances and challenged people’s preconceived ideas about disabled people whenever and wherever they performed. Our students are all motivated by the performing arts and have performed in venues all over the country including the Royal Opera House, Royal Albert Hall, Glastonbury Festival, Notting Hill Carnival, the Paralympic Opening Ceremony, The Royal Festival Hall, and appeared in hit TV show Call The Midwife.

In 2018 we celebrated Orpheus’ 20th anniversary year. We are excited to see what the next 20 years hold for Orpheus.

Orpheus believes that disabled people should have the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers. We aim to equip young disabled people with the skills and confidence they need in order to live independent and fulfilling lives.

Vision

Our vision is of an inclusive world where young people with disabilities, a passion for the performing arts and a desire to live and work independently can achieve their aspirations.

Mission

We use the performing arts to empower young adults with disabilities by developing communication, social interaction and other independence skills.

Our Ethos

At Orpheus we use the arts as a vehicle to promote learning and personal development. We teach a diverse curriculum that covers the arts, independence and employment skills. We offer a range of qualifications working with awarding bodies such as Ascentis, Trinity College, LAMDA and the London College of Music, as well as outreach programmes. Students learn a variety of skills, from cooking and personal finances to accessing the community and managing personal support.

We work closely with each of our students to enable them to transition successfully from full time education into adult life. We support our students to think about what kind of life they would like to have when they leave Orpheus and an important part of this process are our work experience and transition programmes. Team Teach, Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) and restraint are not available at Orpheus.

Across our College our team of staff are passionate about supporting our students to strive to live independently. We are keen to welcome new people to our family who are focused on delivering excellence. We strive to be outstanding in everything we do.

Working with less able young adults means you can make a real difference. We respect and encourage diversity and consider ourselves to be a leader in championing rights for disabled people.

Whatever your skills or background there is likely to be an area in which you can become involved, whether you are looking for a career or simply to work in a rewarding environment where you will feel that you are making a real difference.

Across most departments we promote flexible working and are focused on promoting development opportunities and can support you in achieving NVQ or other relevant qualifications. We also offer a comprehensive induction programme to support you. We are a close knit team and hope you will thrive working in our truly inspirational environment.