Heads oversee their school estate with a rare perspective — at the nexus of long-term vision and day-to-day survival.
Despite this unique vantage point, their strongest ideas often lose momentum to committees, internal politics and wider sector pressures.
Head Start is our design service for leaders looking to regain creative inspiration and momentum.
It’s a one-to-one intensive sprint, working with our architects to explore your best ideas for estate development, understand the costs involved, and prepare a professional, design-led report to spur your team into action.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Of the 5 or 6 architectural firms that we have worked with in the last 5 years, Kennedy Woods are amongst the very best and I have no hesitation in recommending them to other educational providers.
Mark Dingle
Operations Director
Wishford Education
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
We found Chris, Tom and the team to be full of ideas, keep well to the brief, respond to critique constructively and importantly to fit well with our way of thinking and doing things.
Vicky Garner
Director
Living Villages Cook School
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I highly recommend their services to any school seeking innovative and thoughtful architectural solutions.
Paul Neagle
Bursar
St Christopher’s Hampstead
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
For a group of franchise CEO’s who rarely have the opportunity to come together, we were a hard group to please. Tom and the team exceeded all expectations.
Emily Vermont
Director
School of Social Entrepreneurs
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I would recommend them to other clients looking for a practice who can apply fresh thinking and dedication to a project.
Neil Kirby
Head of Regeneration
Southwark Council
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Finding architects who understand school needs are rare and I despaired - until I met Tom and Chris. From the beginning, they listened to us and guided us as we created our forward-thinking masterplan and rolled out its first phase.
Sandrine Pailasse
Headteacher
St Christopher’s Hampstead
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris and the team are commercially minded and easy to work with - their focus on delivery, fast turnaround times, and willingness to adapt made them a great architecture and design partner for our first 30 sites.
Pete Spencer
Project Manager
N Family Club
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Early-bird discount
To celebrate the launch of Head Start, we’re offering an early-bird 50% discount to the first ten Heads to sign up.
Fees refundable in full
If we go on to work together on future projects, your fees will be credited back to you in full.
Standard payment terms apply
Four-week payment terms apply as standard, with nothing to pay today.
Scope
Explore your best ideas for estate development
A focused, architecture-led diagnostic to interrogate your strongest ideas — stress-testing them against pedagogy, capacity, safeguarding, circulation, operational constraints and long-term strategic aims. We surface overlooked opportunities, identify high-impact interventions and help you refine the ideas worth pursuing.
Understand the costs involved
Early-stage feasibility analysis across your shortlisted options — including cost ranges, programme implications, likely phasing, planning considerations and operational disruption. You gain the financial clarity needed to brief governors, secure funding or decide which ideas deserve to move forward.
Prepare a professional, design-led report to spur your team into action
A clear, visually coherent report that turns your estate priorities into an inspiring case for change — combining drawings, diagrams, evidence and narrative. Designed to align SLT and governors, cut through committee noise and give your plans the momentum they need to proceed.