 Kitto established a free school or democratic school model for the running of the project and was impressed by the qualities of the students even though they had effectively unschooled themselves within the school system, where they were perceived as trouble makers.Kitto's "school" caught the attention of Stan Windass, who had been working for a children's rights centre in London, through which he had become aware of several families who were educating their own children.Windass had just taken the lease of Lower Shaw Farm and wanted to establish it as a centre to explore ideas for an alternative society.