Acorn Park

What Acorn Park does

Acorn Park School is an independent special school in Banham, Norwich, England, providing specialist education for autistic young people aged 4-19 across Early Years, Primary, Secondary, and Post-16 provision. The school is set on a 37-acre private estate with a Care Farm, adventure playgrounds, and access to Thetford Forest and East Anglia coastal towns. Its core curriculum is structured around two pathways, Formal (aligned to National Curriculum standards) and Semi-Formal, designed to meet diverse autism-specific learning, communication, and sensory needs.

The school's therapeutic model is built around an integrated multidisciplinary clinical team delivering Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Psychotherapy across three support strands (Timely, Enhanced and Specialist, and Universal). The team is led by a Therapy and Wellbeing Lead with Advanced Sensory Integration Practitioner status, and the caregiving approach uses the PACE model (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy) combined with Therapeutic Parenting. A bespoke Flight Path career planning process begins in Year 8, and a Student, Welfare, Integration, Family Team (SWIFT) handles pastoral, family outreach, and external agency liaison.

Commercially, Acorn Park operates on a recurring, government-funded revenue model. Referrals are received from local authorities once an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) has been agreed, followed by an assessment, tailored school visit, and fee negotiation with the placing authority; revenue is recurring for the duration of the EHCP. The school is wholly owned by Acorn Norfolk Ltd, itself owned by Acorn Care and Education Ltd, which sits within Outcomes First Group under the Options Autism division. The school achieved Outstanding across all Ofsted criteria in December 2024 and won the NASS 2025 Outstanding Impact Award for its four-year curriculum transformation.

Name

Acorn Park

Legal name

Acorn Care and Education Ltd

Website

https://acornpark.org.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Acorn Park School is an independent special school in Banham, Norwich, providing autism-specific education for children and young people aged 4-19, funded via local authority EHCP placements and operated within the Outcomes First Group network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Special Education Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Elementary and Secondary Schools (61111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Autism-Specific Schools & Programs (EDAKAAAA)

Keywords

• Specialist autism education
• Special needs school
• Clinical therapy services
• EHCP placements
• Integrated therapy education

Headquarters

HQ city

Banham, Norwich

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Education Provision Funded via EHCP: The school accepts children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP). Fees are funded by local authorities following EHCP agreement. Revenue is recurring as long as EHCP remains in place and the child remains enrolled.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Acorn Park School is an independent special school providing specialist education for autistic young people aged 4-19 on a 37-acre private estate in Banham, Norwich. The school delivers a Dual Pathway Curriculum (Formal and Semi-Formal) alongside fully integrated clinical therapy (Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy, Psychotherapy) and a SWIFT pastoral and family outreach team. Placements are funded by local authorities through Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

Product overview

Acorn Park School operates as a unified specialist education service offering autism-specific education for children aged 4-19. The core offering consists of specialist education delivered through a Dual Pathway Curriculum (Formal and Semi-Formal), supported by an Integrated Clinical Therapy team providing Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Psychotherapy. Additional services include the SWIFT Team for pastoral and family support, Family Outreach programmes, and a Care Farm. The school was awarded the NASS 2025 Outstanding Impact Award for its curriculum transformation. Referrals are accepted for students with EHCP plans and autism diagnosis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Specialist Autism Education Independent special school providing specialist education for autistic young people aged 4-19 across Early Years, Primary, Secondary, and Post-16 provision, set on a 37-acre private estate with integrated clinical therapy support. For pupils with EHCPs funded by local authorities.
• Dual Pathway Curriculum (Formal and Semi-Formal) Curriculum offering two pathways: Formal Pathway (aligned to National Curriculum standards) and Semi-Formal Pathway, both designed to meet diverse autism-specific learning needs. Supported by small class sizes and well-resourced classrooms.
• Integrated Clinical Therapy Multidisciplinary therapy team providing Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Psychotherapy integrated into classroom and daily activities, with Advanced Sensory Integration Practitioner expertise. Operates across three strands: Timely Support, Enhanced and Specialist Support, and Universal Support.
• SWIFT Team Services (Student, Welfare, Integration, Family Team) Pastoral support, family outreach, and liaison with outside agencies for welfare and wellbeing of students and their families, including parenting courses and outreach support.
• Referrals and Admissions Processing Assessment and admission process for children with EHCP plans and autism diagnosis, including home and current school assessments, school visit programmes, and offer letters with fees and starting dates.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Options AutismcoreOthersOptions Autism is part of Outcomes First Group and is the umbrella organisation under which Acorn Park School operates. The school is owned by Acorn Norfolk Ltd and is a fully owned subsidiary of Acorn Care and Education, which is part of Options Autism/Outcomes First Group. Key management decisions are referred to Outcomes First Group's Board of Directors.
• Outcomes First GroupcoreOthersThe ultimate parent company providing governance, group support functions covering Quality and Compliance, Admissions and Marketing, Human Resources, Finance and IT. Board of Directors includes CEO David Leatherbarrow and CFO Jean-Luc Janet, with independent Chairman and three Non-Executive Directors. Group governance includes local governing committees, national education performance board, and Safeguarding and Quality Committee.
• Acorn Care and Education LtdcoreOthersThe operating company that owns Acorn Park School through its subsidiary Acorn Norfolk Ltd. Provides the corporate structure and operational oversight for the school.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kedleston Group: Kedleston Group operates independent specialist day schools and residential homes across England for children with autism, SEMH and complex needs — a directly comparable independent operator in the same EHCP-funded specialist segment.
• Witherslack Group: Witherslack Group runs a portfolio of specialist SEN schools, residential homes and approved mental health services across England, including autism-specific provisions — a closely comparable specialist education operator with multi-site scale advantages.
• Hesley Group: Hesley Group operates specialist residential and day schools/autism services across the UK for children, young people and adults with autism, learning disabilities and complex needs — directly comparable specialist education and care provision for high-acuity autism learners.
• TreeHouse School (Ambitious about Autism): TreeHouse School is an award-winning specialist autism school in London, run by the charity Ambitious about Autism, providing education for autistic pupils aged 4–19 — a directly comparable age range and specialist focus, though operating as a charitable provider rather than within a private group.
• Sunfield School: Sunfield School is a Climb21 specialist day and residential school for autistic children and young people aged 6–19 in Worcestershire, using the Climb therapeutic model — a directly comparable autism-specialist independent special school with residential provision.

Others

• Options Autism (sibling network under Outcomes First Group): Options Autism is the sister division under Outcomes First Group running a network of autism-specialist schools and homes across the UK — not an external competitor but a directly comparable operating model benchmark within the same parent group.
• Engage Academy / Outcomes First Group brands: Other schools and services in the Outcomes First Group portfolio (Engage Academy, Acorn Education, etc.) — sibling operating models under the same ultimate parent, useful for internal benchmarking rather than external competitive comparison.
• nasen (National Association for Special Educational Needs): nasen is the UK's membership organisation for SEND professionals, supporting quality of provision for children and young people with special educational needs — an ecosystem/adjacent player that sets standards and offers training relevant to Acorn Park's operating context.

Broad incumbents

• Cambian Group (now part of Priory Group): Cambian operated a national portfolio of specialist education, residential and mental health services for children and young people, now integrated into Priory — a comparable specialist SEN education provider with overlapping autism/SEMH services.
• Priory Education (Priory Group): Priory Group operates one of the UK's largest networks of specialist schools and colleges for children and young people with autism, SEMH and complex needs — a broader incumbent providing overlap with Acorn Park's specialist education offering under a much larger healthcare parent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acorn-park-school

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Acorn Park