SEN2gether

Avocet House is an independent special school in Heckingham, Norfolk, for children and young people aged 8 to 18.

  • Ages 8–18
  • 8 pupils
  • Ofsted: Good

School details

Type
Independent special school
Ages
8 to 18
Boys and girls
Boys and girls
Pupils
8 (places for 10)
Headteacher
Mr Alan Waldron (Headteacher)
Boarding
Boarding school
Opened
18 March 2005
Council
Norfolk
School reference (URN)
134978

How to get a place

4 steps, starting with an EHC plan
  1. An EHC plan

    Places at schools like this usually come through an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. If your child doesn’t have one yet, you can ask the council for an assessment yourself.

  2. Visit and ask questions

    See whether the school feels right and whether it can meet your child’s needs. Our list of questions below can help.

  3. Ask for the school to be named

    Tell the council that looks after the plan (often Norfolk council) that this is the school you want, and ask them to consult it.

  4. An offer, and the council’s agreement

    As an independent school not approved under Section 41, it doesn’t have to accept a place: the school has to offer one, and the council has to agree to name it in the plan.

Questions to ask when you visit

8 questions to tick off as you go

Ticks stay on this device, so you can use them on the day.

Ofsted

Rated Good, November 2024

Rated Good at its last graded inspection, in November 2024.

  • Quality of educationGood
  • Behaviour and attitudesOutstanding
  • Personal developmentOutstanding
  • Leadership and managementGood
  • SafeguardingEffective

Independent school standards: all standards met.

Contact and getting there

The Old Vicarage, School Lane, Heckingham, NR14 6QP

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Directions: Walk Public transport Drive

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Other SEND schools nearby

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By need in Norfolk: Autism (31) · Moderate learning (23) · SEMH (22) · Speech and language (20) · Severe learning (13) · Hearing (13) · PMLD (11) · Multi-sensory (11) · Vision (10) · Physical (10) · Dyslexia and SpLD (9)

Questions about Avocet House

How do I get a place at Avocet House?

There’s no catchment area or application round. Places usually come through an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan: ask the council that looks after the plan to consult Avocet House. As an independent school not approved under Section 41, it has to offer a place and the council has to agree to name it.

What ages does Avocet House take?

Aged 8 to 18, boys and girls.

What is Avocet House’s Ofsted rating?

There’s no overall grade to show. Read the school’s latest inspection report on the Ofsted website.

Where is Avocet House?

The Old Vicarage, School Lane, Heckingham, NR14 6QP, in Norfolk.

School data: DfE Get Information About Schools, under the Open Government Licence. Postcode lookups by postcodes.io: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right, Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right, and National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right. Distances are as the crow flies. Always check details and admissions with the school and your council.

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