Garratt Park School Review 2026: A specialist 11 to 19 setting in Earlsfield

On Waldron Road in Earlsfield, breakfast club opens from 8.15 in the dining hall, with students offered a free bagel, juice or cereal. It is a small, practical detail that signals what Garratt Park School is really about: steady routines, lower friction, and support that helps young people arrive ready for learning.

Garratt Park School is a state special school for boys and girls aged 11 to 19 in London, Greater London (Wandsworth). The published capacity is 215. All students have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), with moderate learning difficulties as the primary need and a wide range of additional needs across the cohort. The most recent Ofsted inspection rated the school Good.

“Growth, Progress, Success” sits front and centre in the school’s own language, and it is a helpful lens for families. This is not a place that measures pupils only by how close they can get to mainstream benchmarks; it is a school that expects young people to move forward from their own starting points, then helps them notice that movement.

The behaviour and culture message is equally plain: Ready, Respectful, Safe. Expectations are intentionally simple, which matters in a setting where executive functioning, communication, and emotional regulation can be daily work. It creates a common script for staff and students, and it reduces the number of decisions a young person has to make under pressure.

Garratt Park is also explicit about how it adapts for need rather than asking students to cope and comply. There are smaller classes than a mainstream setting and, for some pupils, a more structured Additional Resource Centre (ARC) offer for those with moderate learning difficulties alongside needs such as autism, significant speech and language difficulties, or sensory processing differences. That combination, mainstream breadth with specialist structure, often suits students who want to feel part of a wider secondary school life while still needing a tighter framework to thrive.

Leadership is stable and visible in the school’s communications. Sharon Gladstone became headteacher in April 2022, and the tone from the top is direct about inclusion, progress, and preparing students for adult life.

We do not publish results data for special schools.

What families can usefully look for here is the shape of learning and the credibility of outcomes. Garratt Park describes a curriculum that can lead to GCSE for some students and Entry Level qualifications for most, alongside vocational accreditations and practical “skills for life” learning. That matters because it frames success as something a young person can take to college, training, and employment, not simply as an internal certificate of effort.

How progress is measured

Progress is tracked in small steps and tied back to each pupil’s EHCP outcomes. In Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, the school sets out progression routes across subjects through visual learning journeys and uses internal baselines and prior Key Stage 2 information to place students on a progression pathway that matches level and pace. The SEND information report also sets out an assess, plan, do, review cycle, with targets reviewed regularly and progress feeding directly into annual reviews.

For parents comparing specialist settings locally, FindMySchool can be most helpful here as a shortlisting tool: filter for 11 to 19 provision, then compare each school’s published approach to accreditation, therapies and day-to-day structure rather than chasing headline exam measures.

A good special school curriculum has to do two things at once: protect ambition, and remove barriers that make ambition unreachable. Garratt Park’s approach is unusually clear about how it does that, by organising learning into three curriculum strands that run alongside each other.

Three curriculum strands, one coherent week

The “traditional curriculum” covers the subjects you would expect in a secondary setting, including English (with Media and Film), mathematics, PSHE, ICT, science, humanities, expressive arts (art, music, drama), design and technology, and PE. For families, the advantage is breadth and familiarity. Students are not narrowed early to only “life skills”; they still get access to knowledge-rich subjects and the dignity of being taught a full curriculum.

The “personal development curriculum” is where the school makes its priorities explicit. It includes Duke of Edinburgh, personal development work, life skills, food, careers and work skills, personal finance, health and fitness, and work experience. This strand turns abstract aims like independence into timetable time, which is often the difference between a good plan and a young person who can actually use skills in the real world.

The third strand is the “complementary curriculum”, delivered by therapists or specialists to reduce barriers and meet EHCP requirements. It includes SACS (Social and Communication Skills), speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, drama therapy, movement, literacy and numeracy support, and social and emotional work. Some elements are universal, built into timetables for classes or year groups; others are targeted for small groups or individuals.

Pathways, class structure, and access

Garratt Park also describes how it tailors without segregating. Students are placed into smaller classes than mainstream, with around 14 per class and two classes per year group, alongside one class in each key stage that is smaller and more structured. ARC provision sits within that picture as a more specialised option for students who need a tighter scaffold for communication, social interaction, emotional regulation and independence.

Technology is positioned as an access tool rather than a novelty. The SEND report references Chromebooks and iPads used to support learning, communication and independence, alongside assistive tools such as Clicker 6. For families, that suggests lessons are designed to be reachable for students who may need alternative ways to record work, organise tasks, or process language.

The destination story at Garratt Park is about preparation, not prestige. The school’s curriculum explicitly aims towards “next steps at college or employment”, and the sixth form is set up to make those moves realistic, with a mix of academic and vocational routes.

Post-16, the school describes a sixth form of around 50 students, with most Year 11 students staying on and some spaces for students joining from other schools. Courses run across lower and upper sixth forms, with core learning sitting alongside options shaped with student and parent input. In terms of qualifications, the sixth form offer includes Functional Skills in English and mathematics (Entry Level 1 to Level 1), GCSE English Literature, GCSE Citizenship Studies, and NCFE Essential Digital Skills (Entry Level 3 to Level 1), alongside wider personal development.

The careers programme has practical weight behind it. Sixth form students have timetabled careers and work skills lessons supported by The Prince’s Trust, and all sixth form students are offered a supported college link placement to inform future choices. The school also runs an annual careers and transition fair attended by employers, colleges and local authority services, which can be particularly helpful for families who want clearer sight of post-19 options.

Work experience is treated as a core part of readiness rather than a one-off reward. The school describes placements that have included local schools and nurseries, libraries, Banham Security, Nando’s, retail outlets, car showrooms, local charities, Wandsworth Council departments and the Home Office. Communication support is built into that, too, including communication passports shared with employers, which can make a decisive difference for young people who struggle to advocate for themselves in unfamiliar settings.

Admissions here are about need, fit, and process, not catchment.

Routes and criteria

All students at Garratt Park School have an EHCP (or a Statement of Special Educational Need) identifying moderate learning difficulties as the main need. Requests for a place are made through the local authority. The school describes a common route for Year 7 transition: families are contacted by the local authority in September of Year 6 to gather preferences and consult with schools, and families do not need to complete the usual request form for a mainstream secondary place.

There is also scope for movement outside the main transition point. The school explains that a request can be made following an annual review in Year 5, or from a student’s current secondary school if it is not the expected time for transition. The school considers paperwork sent by the local authority, invites the child and family to an interview, and may consult with the current school before responding to the local authority.

Timeline and practicalities

Open mornings are part of the admissions picture. The school runs termly open mornings and also offers show rounds, and an open morning is scheduled for early March 2026. For families, it is worth treating the visit as a working session: bring the EHCP, ask how the school would meet specific outcomes, and ask what ARC support looks like day to day if it may be relevant for your child.

This is also a good moment to use FindMySchool’s map tools for a reality check on the daily journey. For many children with SEND, the commute is not a side issue; it can shape sleep, regulation, and whether a student is ready to learn by period one.

Pastoral support is structured rather than informal. Students have a tutor system, and the SEND report describes a Learning Mentor team, pastoral staff, and a Reset Room as part of the support available when students need help with emotional wellbeing and regulation. The emphasis is on building strategies and independence over time, not simply firefighting in the moment.

Therapy and specialist support

Specialist support is a visible part of the school’s everyday offer. The SEND information report lists on-site provision including a speech and language therapist, an occupational therapist, a drama psychotherapist, a social worker and a school counsellor. For many families, that is the key differentiator: support is not solely external and episodic, it is part of the weekly fabric of the school, and it can be integrated into teaching, routines and behaviour support.

The school also links wellbeing to rights and responsibilities. Garratt Park holds the UNICEF Rights Respecting Schools Award and describes class charters based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Done well, this gives students language for fairness, voice and respect, which can be particularly important for young people who have spent years being spoken for.

For safeguarding and reporting concerns, the school references Sharp as an online reporting route for worries in or out of school, which can suit students who find it easier to write things down than say them out loud.

Extra-curricular life at Garratt Park is built to be reachable. After-school clubs are described as free, with places allocated by application, and students taking part stay on site until 4pm for collection. That structure matters, especially for families balancing transport, therapies outside school, and a child’s stamina at the end of the day.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is one of the school’s distinctive anchors. Garratt Park runs both Bronze and Silver, with Year 10 and Year 11 working towards Bronze and Key Stage 5 students completing Silver. The programme is incorporated into the curriculum, which removes a common barrier for SEND students: it is not an optional bolt-on that only the most organised families can access. The expedition element is also concrete, with expeditions taking place in Ashdown Forest, including overnight camping and long walking days suited to each award level.

Sport and confidence-building

Sport appears as both participation and confidence work. The school has reported students competing in inclusive cricket at the Kia Oval, and it also references after-school cricket club supporting students’ development. Sixth form links broaden that further, with references to AFC Wimbledon connections and access to Tooting Leisure Centre facilities through PE lessons. For students who regulate through movement, that mix of structured PE and purposeful sport opportunities can be more than enrichment; it can be part of what keeps the week steady.

The school day

From September 2024, the published school week totals 32.5 hours. Breakfast club opens from 8.15, and areas are supervised from 8.30 because more than half of students use local authority transport and arrival times vary. Tutor bases open at 8.50, and students are dismissed at 3pm. Students staying for clubs are collected at 4pm.

Transport & parking

This is a London school and many pupils arrive via local authority transport, which shapes the soft-start model in the morning. For families travelling by rail, Earlsfield station is the closest straightforward option for most routes into the area. Parking is on-street in the surrounding residential roads, so it is sensible to plan for a short walk as part of drop-off and pick-up.

Admissions route: Entry is via the EHCP process, with local authority consultation and school meetings forming part of the decision-making. That can feel slower than mainstream admissions, so families benefit from starting conversations early, especially if a Year 7 transition is approaching.

Stamina after school: Garratt Park is explicit that many students arrive via transport and that the day is designed with a soft start. That is helpful, but the wider point remains: the school day, travel time, and after-school expectations need to fit the child’s energy and regulation profile, not the parent’s ideal timetable.

Accreditation mix: This is a school that offers GCSE routes for some students, while many others work towards Entry Level and Functional Skills outcomes alongside vocational accreditation. Families who expect a traditional GCSE-heavy pathway should ask detailed questions about which route best matches their child’s profile and long-term aims.

Garratt Park School reads as a serious, structured setting for secondary-age students with moderate learning difficulties, including those with additional needs that make mainstream secondary school a struggle. Smaller classes, ARC support, and on-site specialist provision point to a school designed around access, regulation and independence, not just attendance.

Best suited to families seeking a calm, clearly-structured 11 to 19 placement where therapies, work readiness and personal development sit alongside a recognisable secondary curriculum. The hurdle is the EHCP admissions pathway and getting the timing right; once a place is secured, day-to-day support looks coherent and well thought through. For families weighing multiple specialist options, the Saved Schools feature on FindMySchool can help you keep notes and compare like-for-like before visits.