Southwark has approved a statutory consultation on moving Beormund, an outstanding SEMH school, from Bermondsey to a new Peckham building for 56 pupils.

Southwark Council has approved a statutory consultation on moving Beormund Primary School out of Bermondsey and into a new building in Peckham, raising its capacity from 35 pupils to 56.

The decision was taken on 18 August by Councillor Rebecca Corn, the Executive Member for Education and Care. It is a key decision and is subject to call-in: the deadline for that is 25 August, and if no call-in is made the decision takes effect on 26 August.

What is proposed

Beormund is a community special school on Crosby Row, off Long Lane, SE1, in the London Bridge and West Bermondsey ward. It is registered with the Department for Education to support children aged 5 to 11 with social, emotional and mental health needs, and Ofsted judged it Outstanding in every category at its inspection on 18 June 2024.

The council’s report to the Executive Member, dated 6 August, sets out why it wants to move the school:

  • the school is commissioned for 35 pupils and has 38 on roll, so it is already over capacity
  • the building has exceeded the lifespan it was designed for
  • it no longer meets national guidance on space and condition standards for pupils with special educational needs, and particularly for those with SEMH needs
  • it is not thermally efficient and regularly suffers from both under and overheating

The replacement is a new build on the former Bellenden School site in Peckham, described in the report as fit for purpose and net carbon zero, with a capacity of 56. That is an increase of 21 places.

Two things make this a formal, legally prescribed process rather than an administrative move. The 21 extra places take the school past the 10% change limit. And the new site is more than two miles door to door from the old one. Together those make it a “prescribed alteration” under the Education and Inspections Act 2006, which triggers the statutory route.

Southwark has run out of special school places

The case in the report is not really about one school. It is about a borough-wide shortage.

All four of Southwark’s primary special schools currently have more pupils than capacity, with a combined deficit of about 23 places. That is after the council had already added capacity for September 2025 by expanding Cherry Garden Special School into vacant space at Bellenden Primary School.

The forecast is worse. Council modelling anticipates a 22% deficit in local primary special places by 2031, which it puts at 58 places.

The financial logic follows from that. When there is no local place, the council buys one from an independent specialist provider, usually outside the borough and usually at high cost, and that lands on the dedicated schools grant. The report is explicit that insufficient local capacity “leads to pressure on the dedicated schools grant”.

The building came first

The consultation is starting some way into the project.

Key dates in the relocation of Beormund Primary School Timeline. December 2020, the council decides to procure the demolition of the former Bellenden School site. 2021, lead architects appointed. February 2023, a Gateway 1 report delegates the contract award decision. May 2025, a construction contract worth 14,949,861 pounds is awarded to Neilcott for 75 weeks. 18 August 2026, the statutory consultation on the move and expansion is approved. September 2026, the final decision is due from the council Executive. Fifteen months separate the contract award from the consultation. The contract was signed 15 months before the consultation Key dates in the proposed relocation and expansion of Beormund Primary School, from Southwark Council’s own decision records. December 2020 Council decides to procure the demolition of the former Bellenden School site 2021 Lead architects appointed for the new build February 2023 Gateway 1 report delegates the contract award decision May 2025 £14,949,861 construction contract awarded to Neilcott, for 75 weeks 18 August 2026 Statutory consultation on the move and expansion approved September 2026 Final decision due, from the council's Executive 15 months Source: Southwark Council decisions 8338 (22 May 2025) and 8606 (18 August 2026), the report to the Executive Member dated 6 August 2026, and the council’s forward plan. Graphic by Dulwich Today
The council awarded the main construction contract in May 2025. The statutory consultation on whether the school should move there was approved this week.

The council decided to procure contractors to demolish the former Bellenden School site in December 2020, and appointed lead architects in 2021. On 22 May 2025 the Strategic Director of Children and Adult Services approved the main works contract: a second stage design and build contract with Neilcott Construction Limited, worth £14,949,861, for 75 weeks starting in May 2025. A further £123,000 of highway and excavation orders had been placed in April 2025, eight weeks ahead of it.

The school’s own website carries a page titled New School Build in Peckham, following the construction in photographs.

None of that is irregular. Capital funding was agreed separately, and the report notes that because it only proposes a consultation it “has no immediate financial implications”. But it does mean the question being consulted on is whether to move the school into a building that is already most of the way up.

How the consultation works, and when

The statutory process has five stages:

  1. Publication of the statutory proposal and notice
  2. Representation, the formal consultation, which must run for a minimum of four weeks
  3. Decision, which the local authority must take within two months
  4. Referral to the Schools Adjudicator, if applicable
  5. Implementation

This week’s decision covers stages one and two. The council says the consultation will involve meetings with parents and carers, staff, trade unions and governors, both in person and online, with written responses accepted as an alternative. It will also write to local MPs, the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education, the RC Education Commission and neighbouring authorities.

The statutory notice carrying the exact opening and closing dates had not been published when this was written, and the decision does not take effect until 26 August. The council’s forward plan records that the final decision is due from the Executive in September 2026, which leaves very little slack around a four-week minimum representation period.

What it means for you

If your child is at Beormund, or is waiting for a special school place. The proposal adds 21 places to a borough that is currently 23 short across its four primary special schools. Nothing changes yet: this decision only starts the consultation, and the Executive has to take the final decision afterwards. The council’s forward plan entry names the officer to contact about making representations, and lists the lead member as Councillor Rebecca Corn.

If you live near the former Bellenden School site. The construction contract has been running since May 2025 on a 75-week programme, so the building work is not something the consultation will stop or start. The consultation is about whether the school transfers to it and grows to 56 places.

If you want to respond. Watch for the statutory notice, which must be published before the four-week representation period can run, and which will carry the response deadline. We will report the dates when they appear.

Sources

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