Private special schools move into disused state sites amid SEND shortages

Private companies are buying or renting closed state schools and disused playing fields to open or expand independent special schools.

Ministers have signed off five such land disposal requests since October 2024, with proceeds funding some councils’ own SEND provision or school sports equipment.

It comes months after education secretary Bridget Phillipson proposed to give herself powers to refuse new private special schools and introduce tighter regulations.

Spending on independent special schools has soared to more than £2 billion in recent years, amid a state school capacity crisis and delays to the opening of new free schools.

But last month, Phillipson gave permission to Astrea Academy Trust to dispose of an area of unused playing field at St Ivo Academy in Cambridgeshire. DfE permission is required to dispose of playing field land.

It will rent the space to The Aurora Group so it can expand its independent special school to “meet demand for SEN places”, the department said.

Astrea told the DfE the “patch of scrub land” would require a “significant investment” to bring it into use. This was “not a priority for the trust given its existing playing field provision”.

The annual rental income would buy additional sports equipment “to enhance its students’ use of the retained areas”.

Aurora’s financial backer is The Octopus Group, an investment giant that is also the largest external shareholder of utilities company Octopus Energy. The Octopus Group declared a pre-tax profit of £15 million in 2024-25 on a turnover of £318 million.

‘Clearly gaps in SEND provision’

An Astrea spokesperson said St Ivo was “fortunate” to have ample sports fields and sharing the land would create 21 extra places at Aurora Fairway School. According to its 2023 ‘good’-rated Ofsted inspection, it charged £65,600 a place.

The group said the agreement “enables the academy to further invest in its students, supports the local economy through increased employment opportunities, and, most importantly, helps children with SEND who urgently need specialist education”.

Margaret Mulholland, a SEND and inclusion specialist at the ASCL school leaders’ union, said the sales showed councils and schools “remain in challenging financial positions where it is necessary to look to sell assets and recoup money on unused land”.

There were also “clearly gaps in SEND provision in many communities that independent special schools are looking to fill”.

It was important “all children with special educational needs have access to high-quality provision in whatever setting that may be.

“In that sense, the opening and expansion of these special schools is positive, particularly in this interim period before the SEND reforms take hold.

“However, it does also point to failings in the past whereby the process of opening new special schools has proven onerous and not agile enough to meet local demand.”

Three derelict schools converted

In Durham, two derelict former primary schools were sold to Options Autism, owned by private-equity backed Outcomes First Group (OFG).

It created 100 places in two private special schools – Trimdon Hill and Strawberry Lane – which opened in September 2025.

Both cater for pupils with autism who also have other needs, with fees ranging from £62,000 to £95,000, according to Ofsted reports.

Jim Murray, Durham council’s head of education and skills, said both sites carried planning restrictions that would have made council developments “expensive and not as viable as other sites”.

“The redevelopment of these sites into independent schools has helped to create additional places for pupils with additional needs countywide.”

OFG made an operating profit of £7.1 million on turnover of £264.3 million in 2023-24. It was acquired by the US-based private equity firm TPG in 2023.

Its profits have been reinvested to strengthen provision, and all UK taxes are paid, a spokesperson said.

OFG also bought the closed Whitesheet Church of England Primary Academy in Wiltshire to develop into Wessex Lodge Primary School.

A Diocese of Salisbury spokesperson said the land was bequeathed to them in 1873 for a school. The agreement had terms “which dictated that when it was no longer used for this purpose it had to be returned to the original benefactor’s descendants.

“The diocese who held the site as trustees legally therefore under the reverter act 1987 had to follow the wishes of the reverter who stated they wished to sell the site and have the net proceeds.”

The council rents the playing field to OFG.

An OFG spokesperson said it “invested significantly” to bring the three sites back into use “creating safe, well-equipped environments where more children with special educational needs can access high-quality support close to home”.

Property investors step in

A satellite site for Surrey Hills Church of England Primary School was closed in 2022, with pupils relocated to the school’s main base.

The Guildford Diocesan Board of Education said as a registered charity, it was required to seek “the best value” from the site’s sale.

It worked with Surrey council, which owned a playing field next to the school, to sell it at market value to property investors and developers, The Harkalm Group.

A Surrey spokesperson said the playing field was “landlocked” by the diocese-owned land and unsuitable for alternative development.

Harkalm specialises in sourcing and developing properties for independent special school providers.

Alex Ringer, the company’s head of SEND, said: “Independent special school groups are able to move proactively and commit substantial capital to bring neglected buildings back to life, complementing state provision rather than displacing it, and helping to address a genuine shortage of specialist places.”

‘Speedy creation of places’

Claire Dorer, the chief executive of the National Association of Special Schools (NASS), said purchase of land by independent providers “ensures it continues to be used for educational purposes and leads to speedy creation of places”.

In its white paper, the government is proposing new statutory standards for private special schools, which would require them to offer placements based on new specialist provision packages and bandings. They will have to report their costs to councils.

The education secretary would have the power to refuse the expansion or opening of new private special school where there is limited evidence of demand from councils.

At the same time, government is praising councils if their SEND reform proposals include “little to no” plans to increase special school or alternative provision capacity. Its aim is for mainstream schools to become more inclusive.

The DfE was approached for comment.