Hove Micro School has submitted a planning application to convert a large shared house – or house in multiple occupation (HMO) – at 10 Carden Avenue, Brighton, into a small-scale independent school.
The independent school supports children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), particularly those experiencing emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), pathological demand avoidance (PDA), autism and anxiety-related needs.
Carden Avenue would provide a second site as the school responds to demand for places from families and councils.
The school currently has a single site in Manor Hall Road, Southwick, and is rated “good” by Ofsted with “outstanding” elements.
Hove Micro School said there would be about 20 to 24 pupils on site at any one time, with a high staff-to-pupil ratio, with classes of three to five pupils.
The school would provide therapeutic and sensory support as well as academic teaching in a “domestic, low-intensity environment with no large teaching spaces”.
The planning application said: “The property is already in a high-intensity use as an HMO. The proposed use introduces a more structured, supervised and time-limited pattern of activity, confined to daytime hours.
“Furthermore, the site is located immediately adjacent to an established nursery, which operates across extended hours and accommodates a significantly larger number of children.
“This demonstrates that educational and childcare uses are already present and successfully integrated within the local area.”
The building was described as having a large driveway, with enough space for staff parking, although most staff would be expected to use public transport.
Many pupils would also be entitled to travel to and from the premises using council-funded home-to-school transport.
The school’s founder Rachael Ammari said: “We are planning on expanding to a two-site system, one (current) in West Sussex and the new one in Brighton and Hove, because we are getting more and more consultations from both councils so trying to meet the needs of our waiting list.
“We will be applying for a material change inspection to raise pupil capacity when we have secured the second site.”
The school supports children from 5 to 14 years old through key stages one, two and three.
To view or comment on the application, visit the planning section on the council website and search for BH2026/00747.
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