Schools for Specific Support Needs
A School for Specific Purposes (SSP) is a specialist public school for students whose support needs are too significant to be met in a mainstream classroom. A student is eligible when they have a diagnosed intellectual or physical disability, autism, a mental health condition, a sensory processing disorder, or a behaviour disorder.
Rather than running one fixed program, each SSP builds its support around the individual student. Teaching takes place in a specialised setting with far smaller classes than a mainstream school, and the services on offer are matched to what each student needs. SSPs cater for the whole span of schooling, from Kindergarten through to Year 12.
A placement at an SSP is never assumed to be permanent. Every student's placement is reviewed at least once a year, and sooner if their circumstances change. Each review weighs up the full picture of a student's personalised learning and support, and asks whether the current setting is still the one that best meets their needs.
SSPs are rarely isolated, either. Many keep active ties with nearby schools and their local community, so a child enrolled at an SSP may join support classes or mainstream classes at a regular school, and is supported to take part in community activities and training alongside their specialist program.
How can my child enrol in an SSP?
You can't apply to an SSP directly. The process instead begins at your child's current local school, which guides you through it and helps you work out whether an SSP is the right fit. Together, you and the school consider whether your child is eligible and whether this kind of intensive support will genuinely meet their needs.
This pathway is generally open when:
- your child has significant support needs and meets the department's disability criteria;
- this type of support is likely to meet those needs;
- an application has been prepared in consultation with you — usually coordinated by the learning and support team at the school your child currently attends; and
- a local support class panel has reviewed the application and made a recommendation.
This formal application is known as an access request.
More information
For the department's full guidance on SSPs and how the access-request process works, see the NSW Department of Education's Schools for Specific Purposes (SSPs) page.
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Hospital School
Hospital schools operate within medical facilities, ensuring that students receiving inpatient or extended outpatient treatment can continue their education without interruption.
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Medium / High Support Needs
These schools run support classes for students with medium to high support needs arising from intellectual disability, autism, or multiple conditions that require a modified curriculum and ongoing specialist assistance.
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Behaviour Support
These schools operate Intensive Learning Support (Behaviour) classes for students whose significant behavioural needs require a more structured and therapeutic environment than a mainstream classroom can provide.
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Mental Health Support
These schools run Intensive Learning Support (Mental Health) classes for students whose mental health needs significantly affect their ability to engage with education in a mainstream setting.
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Juvenile Justice Establishment
These schools operate within juvenile justice centres, providing continued education for young people detained in a youth justice facility.
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Distance Education
Distance education schools deliver the full NSW curriculum to students who are unable to attend a physical school — whether because of geographic isolation, health reasons, travel, or family circumstances.
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Diagnostic remedial reading assessment
Diagnostic remedial reading assessment schools provide specialised assessment and short-term remedial teaching for students with significant, persistent reading difficulties that have not resolved with the support available at their home school.
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Rural & Remote Health Support
This setting supports children from rural and remote New South Wales who travel away from home to receive coordinated health, developmental and wellbeing care, helping them keep learning while they are away from their local school.
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Residential Wellbeing Program
This setting provides a residential program for New South Wales public school students, combining health and wellbeing support with continued schooling during a short stay away from home.