Transparency data

Independent special schools and post-16 institutions

Independent schools for pupils with special educational needs or disabilities, which have been approved under section 41 of the Children and Families Act.

• From: Department for Education
• Published: 31 December 2015
• Last updated: 20 December 2024 — See all updates

Applies to England and Wales

Documents

Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 59.1 KB

Details

A list of all independent schools and special post-16 institutions for children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) approved under section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014 in England and Wales.

You can filter the list by local authority or by type of setting.

Our guide for independent special schools and special post-16 institutions explains how to apply for approval under section 41.

Other special schools

Details of all special schools in England are available on the Department for Education’s Get Information about Schools system. This includes:

• maintained schools
• academies
• independent schools
• non-maintained schools

The SEND guide for parents and carers explains how parents can ask for one of these schools or special post-16 institutions to be named in their child’s education, health and care plan.

Published 31 December 2015
Last updated 20 December 2024 + show all updates

1. 20 December 2024

   Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales'.

2. 19 September 2024

   Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales'.

3. 30 August 2024

   Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales'.

4. 26 April 2024

   Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales'.

5. 25 March 2024

   Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales'.

6. 28 February 2024

   Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales'.

7. 12 January 2024

   Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales'.

8. 18 December 2023

   Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales'.

9. 11 September 2023

   Removed the list ‘Independent special schools in England including non-maintained special schools (and excluding section 41 approved special schools and colleges)’. Added a link to the Get Information about Schools system – this is under ‘Other special schools’.

10. 6 September 2023

    'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales' has been updated to make sure all rows are visible. No data has changed.

11. 31 August 2023

    Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales'.

12. 7 July 2023

    Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales'.

13. 17 April 2023

    Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales'.

14. 24 March 2023

    Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales'.

15. 4 January 2023

    Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales'.

16. 5 December 2022

    Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales' documents.

17. 13 October 2022

    Updated list of special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales.

18. 26 August 2022

    Updated list of special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales.

19. 25 July 2022

    Updated list of special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales.

20. 6 May 2022

    Updated list of special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales.

21. 7 April 2022

    Updated list of special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales.

22. 8 December 2021

    An updated list of special schools and colleges approved under section 41 has been added.

23. 31 August 2021

    An updated list of special schools and colleges approved under section 41 has been added.

24. 15 December 2020

    An updated list of special schools and colleges approved under section 41 has been added.

25. 28 August 2020

    An updated list of special schools and colleges approved under section 41 has been added.

26. 10 August 2020

    An updated list of special schools and colleges approved under section 41 has been added.

27. 30 April 2020

    An updated list of special schools and colleges approved under section 41 has been added.

28. 9 January 2020

    An updated list of special schools and colleges approved under section 41 has been added.

29. 30 August 2019

    Updated list for special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales has been added for August 2019

30. 22 July 2019

    Updated list for special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales has been added for July 2019.

31. 27 June 2019

    We have updated the list for special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales.

32. 10 May 2019

    An updated list for special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales has been added following the review.

33. 3 May 2019

    Updated list of independent special schools in England including non-maintained special schools (and excluding section 41 approved special schools and colleges).

34. 11 April 2019

    Secretary of State approved list updated following termly review.

35. 7 February 2019

    The Secretary of State approved list has been updated for January.

36. 10 December 2018

    Updated Secretary of State approved list following termly review.

37. 1 October 2018

    Replaced “Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales” spreadsheets with latest versions.

38. 14 September 2018

    Replaced 'Independent special schools in England including non-maintained special schools (and excluding section 41 approved special schools and colleges)' spreadsheets with latest versions.

39. 31 August 2018

    Updated list of special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales for August 2018.

40. 10 August 2018

    The Secretary of State Approved list has been refreshed following termly review.

41. 24 April 2018

    Updated publication of the Secretary of State approved list has been added for April 2018.

42. 9 March 2018

    Updated special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales list

43. 20 December 2017

    Updated 'Independent special schools in England, including non-maintained special schools (and excluding section 41 approved special schools and colleges)'.

44. 23 November 2017

    The special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales spreadsheet has been updated.

45. 18 October 2017

    Updated approved section 41 list has been added.

46. 31 August 2017

    Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales' document.

47. 28 April 2017

    Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales' document.

48. 16 March 2017

    Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales' document.

49. 30 December 2016

    Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales' document.

50. 29 September 2016

    List of special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales updated.

51. 13 July 2016

    Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales' document to reflect the removal of Trinity Specialist College.

52. 29 April 2016

    Updated 'Special schools and colleges approved under section 41 in England and Wales' document to remove Queen Elizabeth Brain Foundation.

53. 31 December 2015

    First published.