Mary Rose Academy

What Mary Rose Academy does

Mary Rose Academy is a state-funded special school located in Portsmouth, United Kingdom, providing highly specialist, personalised education for approximately 195 pupils aged 2-19 years with profound, severe and complex learning difficulties. The majority of pupils have co-occurring needs including Autism Spectrum Condition, severe physical disabilities and highly complex medical conditions. The school operates across three sites in Portsmouth — the Main Site (Gisors Road, Southsea), Craneswater, and The Lantern — with The Lantern functioning as a dedicated specialist Autism provision. It is operated by Solent Academies Trust, a charitable multi-academy trust and limited company registered in England and Wales that also runs Cliffdale Primary, Dove House Academy, Littlegreen Academy, Luminous Oak Academy and Redwood Park Academy.

The school's core offer comprises a personalised SEND curriculum, a Watersports Hub (canoeing, sailing, power boating and paddleboarding delivered with British Canoeing, Wet Wheels and UKSA), a specialist PE and Sport programme recognised as a Platinum Award partner with the Youth Sport Trust, Key Stage 4 and Post-16 accreditation pathways (ASDAN Personal Progress, Life Skills Challenge, OCR Functional Skills Entry Levels 1-3), careers education with work-experience businesses (The Collective, The Café Collective in conjunction with Redwood Park Academy and City of Portsmouth College), family support services, and a residential visits programme. Pupils are admitted through local authority EHCP placement processes; the school does not charge fees to families and operates under standard UK academy funding, including pupil premium of £1,345 per eligible pupil per year.

The school is led by Executive Principal Faye Watton-Lawrence (also Solent Academies Trust lead for Safeguarding and Child Protection) and Head of School Kate Buckingham, with oversight from Trust CEO Sharon Burt. Governance is provided through an Academy Committee comprising co-opted, parent and staff governors. The organisation holds the Disability Confident Committed accreditation and is signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant.

Name

Mary Rose Academy

Legal name

Solent Academies Trust

Website

https://maryrose-academy.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Mary Rose Academy is a state-funded special school in Portsmouth, UK, providing highly specialist, personalised education for approximately 195 pupils aged 2-19 with profound, severe and complex learning difficulties, including autism and complex medical needs, across three sites within Solent Academies Trust.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Special Education Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Support Services (611710)

akta.pro primary industry

Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Schools & Life Skills Programs (EDAKAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Special Needs-Inclusive Early Learning Academies (EDACADAI)

Keywords

• Special education services
• SEND school provision
• Complex learning support
• Autism specialist education
• Specialist sports college

Headquarters

HQ city

Southsea

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. State-Funded Education: Government-funded special school operating as part of Solent Academies Trust, providing free education to pupils with special educational needs aged 2-19 years

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Mary Rose Academy is a special school for approximately 195 pupils aged 2-19 years, operating across three sites in Portsmouth. It delivers a highly specialist, personalised curriculum for young people with profound, severe and complex learning difficulties, including Autism Spectrum Condition, severe physical disabilities, and highly complex medical conditions. The school is operated by Solent Academies Trust and is state-funded.

Product overview

Mary Rose Academy is a special school providing highly specialist educational services for approximately 195 pupils aged 2-19 years with profound, severe, and complex learning difficulties across three sites in Portsmouth. The school operates as part of Solent Academies Trust and offers a personalised curriculum alongside specialist programs including a Watersports Hub (canoeing, sailing, paddle boarding), PE and Sport as a Specialist Sports College with Youth Sport Trust Platinum Award partnership, The Lantern autism provision, Key Stage 4/Post-16 accreditation pathways (ASDAN, OCR Functional Skills), careers education with work experience businesses (The Collective, The Café Collective), family support services, and residential visits. The school focuses on preparing pupils for adult life through individualized learning programs addressing communication, independence, and employment skills.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• All pupils have access to swimming lessons with five swimming targets to achieve
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• British CanoeingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides pupils with invaluable water sports experiences including canoeing activities through the school's Watersports Hub curriculum.
• Wet WheelscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization providing pupils with power boating and water sports experiences as part of the comprehensive Watersports Hub programme.
• UKSAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUKSA on the Isle of Wight provides pupils with a huge range of invaluable experiences on the water, supporting the Watersports Hub curriculum.
• STEM Enthuse Partnership For SchoolsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSolent Academies Trust partnership to improve young people's engagement in STEM subjects through teacher CPD, quality-assured resources, STEM clubs, and enrichment visits. Partnership includes 8 schools in the STEM cluster with a two-year bursary-supported plan.
• The Portsmouth Education PartnershipmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional education partnership supporting collaborative working between schools in Portsmouth area.
• Challenge PartnersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational education charity providing peer review and improvement support through a network of outstanding schools.
• Shaping PortsmouthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partnership through which students engage in enterprise activities including Shaped by Solent project, working with local business mentors to design and produce products.
• HISP - Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Southampton and Portsmouth Teaching School HubmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeaching School Hub providing professional development and support for teachers across the region.
• Confederation of School TrustsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational body representing and supporting academy trusts in England.
• The CollectivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBusiness run in conjunction with Redwood Park Academy and City of Portsmouth College providing work experience opportunities for students.
• The Café CollectivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBusiness enterprise providing students with work experience in café operations, run in partnership with Redwood Park Academy and City of Portsmouth College.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cliffdale Primary Academy: Primary-phase specialist academy within Solent Academies Trust serving children with complex learning difficulties, the natural feeder and trust-wide peer for Mary Rose Academy.
• Dove House Academy: Another Solent Academies Trust special school serving pupils with complex learning needs in the Portsmouth cluster, operating under the same multi-academy trust governance.
• Treloar's School: Well-known Hampshire-based specialist school for students with profound and complex disabilities including physical and learning needs — a directly comparable residential/day SEND institution in the same region.
• Prior's Court School: Specialist autism and complex needs school in Berkshire serving children and young people with severe autism — closely comparable to The Lantern provision within Mary Rose Academy.
• Littlegreen Academy: Solent Academies Trust peer academy providing specialist education for pupils with complex needs, sharing back-office, CPD and partnership infrastructure with Mary Rose Academy.
• Ambitious about Autism (TreeHouse School): National charity operating specialist schools (including TreeHouse and Sybil Elgar) for pupils with autism and complex learning difficulties, directly comparable to Mary Rose Academy's specialist SEND model.
• Young Epilepsy (St Piers School): National charity operating specialist residential and day school St Piers for students with epilepsy and complex learning needs — a directly comparable specialist SEND institution serving similar learner profiles.
• Redwood Park Academy: Fellow Solent Academies Trust SEND school in the Portsmouth area, sharing central services and joint enterprise businesses (The Collective, The Café Collective) with Mary Rose Academy.
• Luminous Oak Academy: Newer Solent Academies Trust specialist school, operating under the same governance and central services for complex SEND learners in the Hampshire/Portsmouth region.

Broad incumbents

• National Autistic Society: Large national SEND charity running schools, services and advocacy for autistic people; overlaps with Mary Rose Academy's autism-specific provision (The Lantern) and broader SEND remit, but at a much wider national scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mary-rose-academy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mary Rose Academy