Special schools and other specialist providers

Most children and young people who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan will attend a mainstream school. For some, it might be right to go to a specialist setting, school, or college, or receive enhanced provision in a mainstream school. Assessment by a number of different professionals will help to decide whether a specialist setting is appropriate.

The Children and Families Act 2014 states that Local Authorities should educate children in a mainstream setting wherever possible. This is:

We therefore make additional support available in mainstream to include children with a wide range of needs.

The parent’s views and advice will be an integral part of the decision-making process for a specialist or mainstream setting.

Special schools

A very small number of children and young people cannot make progress in mainstream. This is even with enhanced level of support. They might go to a:

  • special school
  • course at college specifically for young people with complex SEND
  • specialist college

To go to a special school a child or young person must have an EHC plan that sets out the specialist support necessary.

There are 3 maintained special schools in Camden's state system, all rated good or outstanding:

Frank Barnes

  • Type of need, children who are deaf
  • Number of places, 35  
  • Year Group, Early Years to Year 6
    Visit the Frank Barnes website.

Harmood School (federated with Heath School and Haverstock School)

  • Type of need, Social, emotional and mental health (SEMH)
  • Number of places, 40  
  • Year Group, Year 7 to Year 11
    Visit the Harmood School website.

Swiss Cottage School

  • Type of need, severe and profound learning difficulties, sometimes overlapping with Autism 
  • Number of places, 260  
  • Year Group, Early Years to Year 13
    Visit the Swiss Cottage School website.

Alternative education provision

Pupil Referral Units (PRUs)

A PRU is an education provision where a young person can be placed if they are having difficulties in school. It can provide a shorter time away from their mainstream school in a specialist setting. Children who are excluded from their primary school can also be placed in a PRU.

For primary school-age children, we have specialist provision in Robson House PRU.

For secondary school-age young people, we have provision at Heath School.

There is also support for mental health needs, for example school phobia or anxiety. Schools work with a variety of different services and agencies to provide support within the school.

If a child requires support in addition to this the following organisations can offer support and information:

The Thomas Group provides a small, nurturing, educational setting for children presenting with social, emotional, and psychological difficulties.

The Royal Free Hospital School provides specialist intervention. A referral from a consultant is required to access provision in the Royal Free Hospital School.

Hospital schools

There are 2 hospital schools in Camden. Admission to both is for inpatients or day patients in the hospital:

Special school admissions

We seek to provide for children and young people in locally maintained settings wherever possible. This includes both mainstream and specialist education provision, and also includes maintained provision in nearby boroughs.

When considering specialist provision in neighbouring boroughs, parents are advised to consider Camden’s SEN transport policy. If your child is eligible to receive transport assistance, this will be considered based on the nearest suitable school to home.

Children with a statement of special educational needs or EHC plan

The application process is different for children with statements of special educational needs, or an education, health and care (EHC) plan. If your child has a statement or EHC plan, you should not apply through the ordinary process. Instead you should be guided by the SEN team of the local authority that maintains the statement or EHC plan.

You can contact The Camden SEN Team by calling 020 7974 6500 or by emailing [email protected].

Specialist provision in neighbouring boroughs

Find information about specialist provision in neighbouring borough's on each Council's website:

To search for Ofsted inspection reports for any school, visit the Ofsted website.

Where we cannot meet needs locally, we will consider funding independent educational provision that can meet the child’s needs. In exceptional cases, residential provision will be considered.

The Department for Education has a list of independent and non-maintained schools for pupils with SEND. These have been approved under section 41 of the Children and Families Act.

The Department for Education (DfE’s) website has more information about independent special schools and post-16 institutions outside of Camden.

Further education

Young people with SEND have a number of pathways after they complete their secondary school education.

This includes:

Find out more about further education provision.