Abbey Court is based on two sites, some 12 miles apart. The Rainham site provides for Early Years Foundation Stage, infants and juniors. The Strood site provides for secondary and students aged 16 to 19. Currently, the school has more than its official capacity of 150 places. Pupils have severe learning difficulties or profound and multiple learning difficulties as their main need. Some have additional needs such as visual impairment, hearing or sensory impairment, severe autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) and physical disability. A few have life threatening medical conditions. All have statements of special educational needs. The school continues to experience a shift in the complexity of levels of need, including severe challenging behaviours. A minority of pupils require a minimum of full time one-to-one staff support to meet their needs. Currently, the large majority of pupils are boys and most are of White British heritage. A few have English as an additional language. The proportion known to be eligible for the pupil premium (extra money provided to schools by the government for students looked after by the local authority and for those eligible for free school meals) is well above the national average. The school has specialist school status for cognition and learning and has gained numerous awards for different aspects of its work and provision. Most recently, it has received the British Council’s International School Award in recognition of its involvement in global activities.