Turney Primary and Secondary Special School in Dulwich serves children and young people aged 4 to 18 with autism spectrum conditions and complex learning needs. Part of the Lansdowne Turney Federation, the school operates from a single site on Turney Road in the London Borough of Lambeth, between Herne Hill and Crystal Palace. With a capacity of 155 pupils, Turney specialises in supporting learners with autism, associated communication difficulties, and moderate to severe learning difficulties. The school was rated Good across all categories by Ofsted in December 2024, having previously achieved Outstanding ratings in 2008 and 2018. Admission requires an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) arranged through Lambeth's SEND Team.
Turney School's ethos centres on creating a secure, caring and supportive environment with clear expectations for pupil achievement and raised attainment. The school applies a holistic approach to education, working closely with speech therapists, occupational therapists, educational psychologists, and medical staff to enable all pupils to access a differentiated National Curriculum tailored to their individual needs.
The school's approach is built around understanding and supporting the core challenges faced by children with autism spectrum conditions. Staff work within the SCERTS Model framework, addressing Social Communication, Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support as fundamental elements of each child's development. This research-based foundation shapes the entire school community, from classroom organisation to therapeutic interventions.
Parents and professionals describe an environment where learning is hands-on and practical. The school prioritises meaningful engagement through regular trips and community visits, including weekly swimming for every year group, horse riding lessons at Vauxhall City Farm, and outings to local destinations such as Dulwich Park and Tesco. These experiences form part of the school's commitment to helping young people develop as independent and confident individuals who can engage with the wider community.
The atmosphere reflects the school's understanding that every child requires a highly individualised approach. The student body is predominantly male, with boys representing approximately 79% of pupils. Class sizes are small, allowing staff to provide the intensive support and differentiation that pupils with complex needs require.
Turney School does not participate in standard national assessments, reflecting its specialist nature and the individual learning pathways of pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans. The school instead uses PIVATS (Performance Indicators for Value Added Target Setting), a nationally recognised assessment system designed for specialist provision. This allows staff to track progress in small, meaningful steps and ensures that work offered to each pupil is appropriately differentiated.
The curriculum is fully adapted to meet individual needs while maintaining access to National Curriculum content. All areas of learning are broken down into smaller steps, making the curriculum more structured and meaningful for pupils with autism and complex learning needs. The school places particular emphasis on communication and literacy, following the Letters and Sounds Programme supported by the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) from Year 1 through Year 11 where necessary.
Teaching approaches are evidence-based and selected to suit each child's profile. The TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication-handicapped Children) approach structures learning environments with separate, defined areas for different tasks. This visual learning method plays to a common strength among young people with autism, using schedules made up of pictures and words to help pupils order their day and move smoothly between activities.
For pupils at earlier communication stages, the school employs Intensive Interaction, a model drawn from natural infant-caregiver communication. This approach creates enjoyable, non-threatening communication opportunities through short interactions involving noises, touch and eye contact.
Therapeutic support is embedded throughout the school day. Two speech and language therapists assess every pupil on entry and create individual speech and language plans for school and home use. They meet regularly with parents and carers to review progress and adapt strategies. The therapists work with staff to develop communication systems including PECS, objects of reference, photographs, symbols and communication books.
Occupational therapy operates as a universal provision, with the therapist providing advice and training to all school staff. The focus encompasses facilitating independence with functional tasks, supporting sensory and motor development, and managing the effects of disability through environmental adaptations and specialised equipment. Two trained communication teaching assistants support the work of both speech therapists and the occupational therapist.
The school also employs an art therapist who works across the Lansdowne Turney Federation, providing creative therapeutic interventions. This multi-disciplinary team approach ensures that sensory, communication and emotional regulation needs are consistently addressed.
At Key Stage 4, the curriculum expands to include substantial work experience and work-related learning, preparing students for post-16 transitions. Personal, Social, Health, Citizenship and life skills form a fundamental strand throughout all key stages, with the explicit aim of supporting young people to move into the community as independent and confident adults.
The sixth form provision, rated Good by Ofsted in December 2024, continues this focus through a life skills, independent living and supported employment pathway designed for students aged 16 to 18.
Turney School occupies a single site in the Dulwich area of Lambeth. While specific details about buildings and specialist spaces are limited in public documentation, the school's therapeutic and educational model requires dedicated areas for individual work, group activities, sensory support, and practical life skills development.
The school's approach to student life emphasises active community participation. Weekly swimming sessions for all year groups support physical development and confidence in a different environment. Horse riding lessons at Vauxhall City Farm provide therapeutic outdoor experiences and opportunities to develop new skills. Regular local trips embed community access and functional learning into everyday practice.
These activities are not peripheral enrichment but core components of the curriculum, supporting the development of confidence, independence and real-world skills that will serve students throughout their lives.
Turney School exclusively serves pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans, with autism spectrum conditions as the primary area of need for the majority of students. The school supports children and young people with complex profiles who typically present with multiple overlapping needs.
All pupils at Turney have autism spectrum conditions, often accompanied by moderate or severe learning difficulties. Speech and language delay or disorder is common across the student population, and many pupils experience sensory processing differences that affect their daily functioning. The school's entire provision is designed around understanding and supporting these interconnected needs.
The school's specialist approach means that staff are trained in autism-specific teaching strategies and therapeutic interventions. The SCERTS Model framework guides practice across all key stages, ensuring consistent support for social communication, emotional regulation and transactional support needs.
Sensory differences are addressed through occupational therapy input, environmental adaptations and individualised sensory strategies. Visual supports, structured routines, and clear communication systems help pupils navigate their school day with reduced anxiety and increased independence.
The school recognises that many pupils with autism benefit from predictable environments, and the TEACCH approach provides this structure while remaining flexible enough to meet individual preferences and needs. For pupils with more complex communication needs, staff are skilled in using alternative and augmentative communication systems, ensuring every child has a means to express themselves and engage with learning.
Admission to Turney Primary and Secondary Special School operates entirely through the EHCP process managed by Lambeth's SEND Team. Parents cannot apply directly through standard school admissions channels; a child must have an Education, Health and Care Plan that names Turney School as the appropriate placement.
The process begins with requesting an EHCP assessment, which can be initiated by parents, carers, schools, or professionals working with the child. Applications can be submitted online via Lambeth's EHC Hub. Once an EHCP is in place and annual review or transfer processes identify a need for specialist placement, the SEND Team considers suitable schools based on the child's individual needs and the provision available.
For children transferring to secondary provision, the deadline for applications is earlier than mainstream admissions, typically 30 September of Year 6, with amended EHC Plans naming the new placement issued by mid-February. This extended timeline allows the SEND Team to identify the most appropriate setting.
Places at specialist schools like Turney are finite, and demand often exceeds capacity. With 155 places serving Lambeth and potentially neighbouring boroughs through inter-authority agreements, families may experience waiting periods or be offered alternative specialist settings if Turney is oversubscribed or not deemed the most suitable placement for their child's specific profile.
Parents wishing to change schools in-year must discuss this with their home borough SEND Team. General admissions applications submitted through the standard portal are not valid for children with EHCPs and may result in missed placement opportunities.
The school does not have a defined catchment area in the traditional sense. Placement decisions are based on whether the school can meet the child's assessed needs as detailed in their EHCP, rather than proximity to home. Transport assistance is typically provided by the local authority for pupils attending specialist schools.
Families considering Turney should engage early with their local authority's SEND Team, ensure their child's EHCP accurately reflects their needs, and be prepared to visit the school to assess whether the provision aligns with their child's specific profile. The Lambeth SEND Team can be contacted through the council's SEND department for guidance on the application process and placement timelines.
Turney Primary and Secondary Special School offers specialist, autism-focused education for children and young people aged 4 to 18 with complex needs. The school's strengths lie in its evidence-based teaching approaches, comprehensive therapeutic support, and commitment to preparing students for independent adult life. The SCERTS Model framework, combined with TEACCH strategies and intensive therapeutic input from speech therapists, occupational therapists and other specialists, creates a coordinated support system designed specifically for pupils with autism and associated communication and learning difficulties.
The school's recent Ofsted inspection in December 2024 confirmed Good ratings across all judgement areas, marking a shift from its previous Outstanding grades in 2008 and 2018. This reflects the national move away from overall effectiveness grades and suggests the school maintains strong provision, though perhaps not at the exceptional level it previously demonstrated. For families whose children have EHCPs naming autism as a primary need alongside moderate to severe learning difficulties, Turney represents a well-established specialist option within Lambeth.
The school's focus on practical, community-based learning through regular trips, weekly swimming and life skills development demonstrates a clear philosophy that education extends beyond academic content to encompass independence, confidence and real-world functioning. The high staff-to-pupil ratio and individualised planning reflect the resource-intensive nature of supporting children with complex needs effectively.
Parents should be aware that admission is entirely dependent on the EHCP process and placement by Lambeth SEND Team, meaning direct parental choice is limited. The school's predominantly male student population may be a consideration for some families. While facilities information is not extensively documented publicly, the presence of specialist teaching approaches, therapeutic staff and community access programmes indicates the necessary infrastructure for specialist autism education.
For families seeking a specialist school environment where autism understanding is embedded in every aspect of provision, where communication needs are supported through multiple evidence-based approaches, and where the pathway to adult independence begins in the early years, Turney offers an established setting with a consistent track record of supporting complex learners.
Turney Primary and Secondary Special School was rated Good across all categories in its December 2024 Ofsted inspection, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, early years provision and sixth form provision. The school specialises in supporting pupils aged 4 to 18 with autism spectrum conditions and complex learning needs, offering evidence-based teaching approaches and comprehensive therapeutic support from speech therapists, occupational therapists and other specialists.
You cannot apply directly to Turney School through standard admissions processes. Admission requires your child to have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) arranged through Lambeth's SEND Team. Parents should contact Lambeth SEND Team to discuss their child's needs and the EHCP process. Applications for EHCP assessments can be made online via Lambeth's EHC Hub. For secondary transfers, the deadline is typically 30 September of Year 6, earlier than mainstream admissions.
Turney School serves children and young people aged 4 to 18, covering primary, secondary and sixth form phases. The school operates across five key stages on a single site in Dulwich. Sixth form provision focuses on life skills, independent living and supported employment pathways for students aged 16 to 18.
Turney School exclusively serves pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans who have autism spectrum conditions as their primary area of need. The majority of students also have moderate or severe learning difficulties, speech and language delay or disorder, and sensory processing differences. The school's entire provision is designed around supporting these interconnected needs through specialist autism-focused teaching approaches and therapeutic interventions.
Turney provides comprehensive therapeutic support embedded throughout the school day. Two speech and language therapists assess every pupil on entry and create individual communication plans. An occupational therapist works universally across the school, supporting sensory, motor and functional development. Two trained communication teaching assistants support this work, and an art therapist provides creative therapeutic interventions. The school also works closely with an educational psychologist and school medical staff.
Yes, Turney School provides access to a differentiated National Curriculum adapted to meet individual needs. All areas of learning are broken down into smaller steps to make content more structured and meaningful for pupils with autism and complex learning needs. The school uses PIVATS assessment to track progress in small, individualised steps rather than standard national assessments.
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