Sutton Council to provide more school places for children with autism

Last night, Sutton Council agreed to expand the number of specialist school places in the borough for children with autism.

The 24 additional places, part of the Sherwood Park School, will be based at the Carew Manor site from September 2025. 

Sutton has seen a significant increase in the number of students needing additional support including for autism. Providing these much-needed specialist places will make it easier for Sutton students to travel to a local school and will see them benefit from programmes to develop their independence in the area they live in. 

Councillor Marian James, Lead Member for Children at the London Borough of Sutton said: 

“Thanks to our strong local partnerships, we have been able to increase the number of specialist school places in Sutton. 

“By working in partnership with schools, parents and our local community, we want to create even more specialist places so that children who require additional support have access to high quality, inclusive schools in Sutton. This means we can focus our funding on investing in our young people. 

“We will continue to work with schools to provide new school places but we also need the Department for Education to step up and commit funding to address this national crisis in SEND.” 

David Murden, Sherwood Park School’s Executive Headteacher, said:

“We are delighted to be working alongside our Local Authority colleagues to provide additional specialist places for local children with SEND. We share the Council’s ambition for an inclusive and first class education for all children in the borough and are excited about the opportunity this expansion to Carew Manor brings to our school community.  

“Its extensive grounds, specialist rooms and subject specific rooms will complement our tailored yet broad and balanced curriculum which coupled with our specialist approaches will ensure that every pupil can thrive in their local area”. 

For more details, please view the People Committee report.