Camp Hill Education Review 2026: Small specialist provision in central Birmingham

A capacity of 18 pupils means this is a deliberately small setting, designed for students who have struggled to thrive in larger mainstream schools and who need a reset built around close relationships, structure, and highly individualised teaching. The school describes a focus on confidence, employability skills, and a calm learning environment, with students typically placed through local authority routes linked to exclusion processes or Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

Academically, published performance indicators sit below typical outcomes for England, which is consistent with the school’s specialist cohort and the challenges students bring when they arrive. On the regulatory side, the most recent standard inspection rated overall effectiveness as Requires improvement, and confirmed that the independent school standards were not met at that time.

For families, the key question is fit. If a young person needs a quiet setting, small-group teaching, and a high-support approach to re-engagement, this is the kind of model designed to meet that need.

The school’s published ethos centres on rebuilding confidence and helping students re-engage with education after difficult experiences elsewhere. The language used is direct, focusing on belonging, purpose, and creating a calm space where students can feel safe enough to learn.

Leadership is closely tied to the proprietor model. The head teacher, Mr Irfan Ahmed, is named on the school website and is also listed as headteacher and proprietor in Ofsted documentation, a structure that can make decision-making faster but also concentrates accountability.

The setting is based within a community centre environment in central Birmingham. In practice, this typically signals a compact footprint and a more contained day-to-day rhythm than a large campus, which can suit students who find busy corridors and constant transitions difficult.

This review uses FindMySchool rankings for exam outcomes, which are proprietary FindMySchool rankings based on official data.

At GCSE level, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 20.4. In FindMySchool’s GCSE outcomes ranking, it is ranked 3,874th in England and 105th in Birmingham, placing it below England average overall (in the bottom 40% of schools in England on this measure).

At A-level, 27.27% of grades were A* to B, with 14.14% at A* to A. In FindMySchool’s A-level outcomes ranking, it is ranked 2,130th in England and 42nd in Birmingham, again below England average overall on this measure. Compared with the England benchmark provided A* to A is below the England average of 23.6%, and A* to B is below the England average of 47.2%.

The implication for parents is that headline results are not the primary reason to consider this setting. The value proposition is more about re-engagement, attendance, behaviour stabilisation, and helping students secure appropriate qualifications and next steps from their starting point.

The curriculum intent published on the school website emphasises tailoring learning to the individual, including support for students with special educational needs and a flexible approach to rebuilding engagement. The school also highlights small classes and one-to-one support where necessary.

For a specialist cohort, the operational detail matters. The school’s own documentation describes a graduated approach (assess, plan, do, review) and partnership working with the local authority and external agencies.

From a practical viewpoint, families should expect a teaching model that prioritises foundational literacy and numeracy, strong adult presence, and frequent checking for understanding, because this is the typical pattern that supports students with interrupted schooling and SEMH needs. The trade-off can be breadth, pace, and the scale of subject-specialist provision, which is harder to deliver consistently in very small settings.

The school frames its purpose around equipping students with qualifications and preparation for further education, employment, or training.

Specific destination statistics are not published in the provided dataset for this school. In a setting of this size, destinations can vary substantially year to year based on the small cohort and the profile of each student. The most meaningful questions for families to ask are practical: which qualifications are currently being offered, how work experience is arranged, what local college pathways are used, and how transition planning is structured for students approaching post-16 and post-18.

Admissions are presented as referral-led rather than open enrolment. The school explains that most referrals come via the local authority Exclusions Team through permanent exclusion processes, or via SENAR routes, and that pupils may be referred for a place.

For families, this means the route in is usually mediated by the local authority and the student’s existing support framework. If a student has an EHCP, the placement conversation will typically sit within that statutory context, with decisions shaped by needs, provision, and local authority commissioning. Where exclusion is involved, timelines can be urgent, and the decision-making often focuses on stabilising education quickly.

If you are shortlisting specialist settings, FindMySchool’s Saved Schools feature can help you track provision type, inspection status, and practical constraints side by side, especially when you are managing discussions with multiple professionals.

This is a setting that positions wellbeing as a prerequisite to learning. Published information on SEND support references holistic support and practical strategies, including help with communication, social interaction, and participation in class activities.

The school also publishes safeguarding information and named safeguarding leads, reinforcing that safeguarding expectations are part of staff training and daily practice.

For students with SEMH needs, consistency of routines and predictable adult responses are usually the difference-makers. Families should probe how attendance is supported, how behaviour plans are implemented day to day, and how therapeutic or agency input is integrated into school time.

In a small setting, extracurricular tends to be targeted and purposeful rather than vast. The school explicitly lists martial arts and football as activities, framed around discipline, teamwork, and controlled routines.

A distinctive element is the “Young Driver” offer described on the school website, focused on road safety and practical driving elements in a controlled environment, with an intention to support older students towards driving-related knowledge where appropriate and consented.

Trips and visits are described in practical terms, including local library visits, museum visits (including Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery), and historical visits such as castles. For many students, these structured experiences are not an add-on, they can be an important part of rebuilding confidence and widening horizons in manageable steps.

As an independent school, published fee information is relevant, but families should be aware that many placements in specialist contexts may be funded through local authority processes, depending on the student’s circumstances.

The most recent published fee range in Ofsted documentation is £33,500 to £55,000 per year for day pupils.

The school’s website does not set out bursary or scholarship arrangements in a clear, quantified format. Families considering a privately funded place should clarify what is included, what is charged as extras, and how any additional support is priced.

The school website publishes a short school day structure, with hours of 9:00am to 2:30pm Monday to Thursday, and 9:00am to 12:45pm on Fridays. It also sets out a daily rhythm built around four periods, with break and lunch included across Monday to Thursday.

Lunch is described as provided through local approved caterers, with options for packed lunches; the guidance discourages fizzy drinks.

Wraparound care is not described in published information. For a specialist setting with a shorter day, transport and supervision plans matter, so families should confirm any availability of breakfast or after-school arrangements through the school directly.

• Regulatory position. The most recent standard inspection (February to March 2025) rated overall effectiveness as Requires improvement, and the independent school standards were not met at that time.

• Very small cohort. With a published capacity of 18 and single-digit roll numbers reported in recent documentation, peer group breadth can be limited. This suits some students strongly, but others may find it socially narrow.

• Limited published detail on enrichment and outcomes. Beyond a small set of stated activities and trips, detailed, up-to-date information on qualifications on offer, destinations, and programme breadth is limited in publicly available material.

• Admissions route is not standard open entry. Referral-led placements can be the right mechanism for students who need a rapid reset, but it also means timelines and decision-making are shaped by local authority processes.

Camp Hill Education is a small, specialist provision model aimed at re-engaging students who have found mainstream schooling unworkable, often alongside SEMH needs and statutory support frameworks. It suits families and professionals seeking a contained, high-support environment with close adult oversight, and where the goal is stabilisation, confidence, and appropriate qualifications rather than conventional headline exam performance.

Who it suits: students who need a calm setting, small-group teaching, and an individualised approach to re-entry into education, particularly where a referral-led pathway is appropriate.