Freemantles

What Freemantles does

Freemantles School is a Surrey County Council maintained special school providing specialist autism education for children and young people aged 4-19, founded in 2007 at its Mayford site in Woking, United Kingdom. The school delivers a continuous curriculum from Early Years Foundation Stage through Further Education, organized across EYFS & Primary and Secondary & FE programs, using evidence-based specialist interventions including TEACCH methodology, the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), Attention Autism, Social Stories, Comic Strip Conversations, Colourful Semantics, and the DfE-approved Twinkl Phonics scheme. It holds Social Stories Satellite School accreditation from Carol Gray and has received an Outstanding rating from OFSTED across all areas as of November 2023. As of the 2025-26 academic year the school operates as a full two-form entry across both sites with 306 pupils, supported by a Secondary and FE building opened in November 2023 and a temporary satellite site in Ripley opened in January 2024.

Name

Freemantles

Legal name

Freemantles School

Website

https://freemantles.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Freemantles is a Surrey County Council maintained special school providing evidence-based autism education for 306 pupils aged 4-19 across two sites in Woking and Ripley, with commissioned outreach services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Special Education Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Autism-Specific Schools & Programs (EDAKAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Autism Classroom & School Program Support (Inclusion/Resource) (EDAKAKAC), Autism Parent/Caregiver Education & Training (School-Linked) (EDAKAKAJ), Autism Teacher Training & Professional Development (EDAKAKAL), Autism Early Intervention (Educational) (EDAKAKAB)

Keywords

• Special autism education
• Special needs schooling
• Autism outreach services
• Further education programs
• Early years intervention

Headquarters

HQ city

Woking

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Freemantles School is a Surrey County Council maintained special school delivering specialist autism education and support for children and young people aged 4-19 across Surrey. The school provides a full integrated curriculum from Early Years through Further Education using autism-specific evidence-based interventions, alongside commissioned outreach services (STEPS, Autism Outreach for Schools, Social Stories training), family support, sleep support, and transition preparation, operating across two sites in Woking and Ripley.

Product overview

Freemantles is a Surrey County Council maintained special school for autistic children and young people aged 4-19. The school's educational offering consists of a comprehensive integrated curriculum spanning Early Years Foundation Stage through to Further Education, delivered through distinct programs including the EYFS & Primary Curriculum and Secondary & FE Curriculum. Core academic programs include Twinkl Phonics (DfE approved reading scheme), Reading Program, Writing Program, and Forest School outdoor learning. The school provides specialized autism outreach services including the Autism Outreach for Schools Service, STEPS early years support, and accredited Social Stories training. Additional support services include Sleep Support, Family Support Services, and Life After Freemantles transition preparation. The institution operates across two sites (Mayford main site and Ripley satellite) serving approximately 306 pupils, with recent expansions including a new Secondary and FE building opened November 2023.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• STEPS: A support package for early years settings and parents for children displaying social communication difficulties, provided by the Autism Outreach team.
• Surrey Autism Outreach for Schools

Products and services

• EYFS & Primary Curriculum Early Years Foundation Stage and Primary Curriculum for pupils from Reception through Year 6, following a broad curriculum engaging children in academic and personal development, covering communication, cognition, social emotional health, and physical skills.
• Secondary & FE Curriculum Secondary and Further Education curriculum for Years 7-13, providing accreditation pathways, vocational learning, and preparation for adulthood through programs including PHSE, careers education, and life skills development.
• Forest School Outdoor learning program available to both Primary and Secondary/FE pupils, providing practical, nature-based learning experiences in woodland settings.
• Autism Outreach for Schools Service Surrey-commissioned service supporting mainstream schools to meet needs of autistic and neuro-diverse pupils, offering universal support (training, advice) and targeted support (observations, reports, follow-up) across West Surrey.
• STEPS Program Early years support package for children aged 3 to school age with social communication difficulties, providing three blocks of support for parents, settings, and transitions into school.
• Social Stories Training Accredited Social Stories training delivered as a Social Stories Satellite School by Carol Gray, covering Social Context, Comic Strip Conversations, and full Social Stories accreditation for parents and professionals working with young people with autism.
• Sleep Support Service Sleep practitioner support including group training for parents on establishing sleep behaviors and intensive 1:1 programs implemented through Sleep Scotland trained staff.
• Family Support Services Family support workers providing home-school links, parent groups, individual support, help accessing external agencies, benefits advice, and the HELP (Home Extended Learning Project) program.
• Life After Freemantles Post-school transition support including careers education, preparation for adulthood, and coordination with the Surrey Transition Team for students moving to further education, training, or supported living.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Surrey County CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSurrey County Council is the governing authority for Freemantles as a maintained school. The council commissions the school to deliver multiple autism support services including STEPS (Early Years support), Supporting Inclusion for Autism (SIFA), High COIN Centre Support, and coordination of parent training programmes (Cygnet, EarlyBird and TeenLife). The council also handles all admissions for the school.
• Woodlands SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of three specialist settings delivering the Surrey Autism Outreach for Schools service. Woodlands School covers Primary Schools in the East of Surrey (Tandridge, Mole Valley, Reigate & Banstead, east Elmbridge).
• Limpsfield Grange SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of three specialist settings delivering the Surrey Autism Outreach for Schools service. Limpsfield Grange covers Secondary Schools across Surrey.
• Carol Gray / The Gray Center for Social Learning and UnderstandingcoreTechnology or IntegrationFreemantles is a Social Stories Satellite School, accredited by Carol Gray. The school offers accredited Social Stories training, Comic Strip Conversations training, and Social Context training for parents and professionals working with young people with autism.
• CaterlinkminorOthersCaterlink is the school's catering provider, supplying freshly prepared meals daily on school premises. They handle special diet requests and food allergy/intolerance accommodations.
• Early Years SEND Team (Surrey)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSTEPS was set up by the Early Years SEND team and Surrey Autism Outreach Service to provide support for parents, settings and transition into school for children displaying difficulties with social communication.
• Friends of FreemantlesminorOthersA parent and staff run registered charity that raises funds for the school. Has provided items such as minibuses, playground equipment, sports kits, swimming equipment, sensory den, and is currently funding the new HEART area (horticulture, animal care, sensory regulation).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• National Autistic Society: UK-wide charity that operates schools, adult services, and training programmes for autistic people, representing the broader incumbent ecosystem in which Freemantles operates as a local specialist provider.
• Hesley Group: Specialist provider of residential schools, colleges, and supported living for autistic children and adults in the UK, offering a comparable but broader and more commercial operating model than Freemantles.
• Ambitious about Autism: National charity operating TreeHouse School, Ambitious College, and outreach programmes for autistic learners, representing a multi-site benchmark for scaling autism-specific education relative to Freemantles' single-council footprint.

Direct peers

• Limpsfield Grange School: Surrey County Council maintained special school covering Secondary schools across Surrey as part of the joint Autism Outreach service. Closest commissioning and operational peer to Freemantles.
• TreeHouse School (Ambitious about Autism): Specialist autism school in London operated by Ambitious about Autism, providing autism-specific education using approaches such as TEACCH and PECS, with a comparable age range and curriculum specialism to Freemantles.
• Prior's Court School: Residential and day special school near Hermitage, Berkshire, dedicated to autistic children and young people with complex needs, providing a directly comparable autism-specific educational setting in the UK.
• Sutherland House School (Nottingham Autism Services): Independent specialist school for autistic children in Nottingham, delivering personalised learning and therapy across a similar age range to Freemantles, with overlapping methodology stack.
• Woodlands School: Surrey County Council maintained special school co-delivering the Surrey Autism Outreach for Schools service with Freemantles, covering Primary schools in East Surrey. Direct operational and commissioning peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/freemantlesschool
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/freemantles

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Freemantles