Compass is the name for a new Designated Unit within the London Borough of Hillingdon which opened in September 2024 and moved into a new build as part of Harlington School in November 2024.
Compass aims to be a centre of excellence for children or young people with a primary diagnosis of Autism. The purpose of the Designated Unit is:
- to form an important part of a graduated approach to meeting needs locally to meet the needs of the children or young people within the Designated Unit, providing personalised support to enable them to make good progress in all areas of their development
- to build capacity across the Provider, ensuring that all staff across the Provider have the skills and expertise they need to meet the needs of the children or young people when they are accessing the wider school curriculum and
- to work with other schools across the local area to support them to meet these types of needs within their own schools, improving outcomes for children or young people across the local area and the London Borough of Hillingdon.
Compass has space for 16 students in total and places are allocated by London Borough of Hillingdon for children and young people with autism who will be able to access some mainstream secondary education during K.S. 3 and 4 in line with EHCP outcomes and as appropriate to individual needs.
Places available:
| Year | Cohort | Places | Cohort | Places | Cohort | Places | Total |
| 2023/24 | Year 7 | 7 places | 7 | ||||
| 2024/25 | Year 7 | 7 places | Year 8 | 9 places | 16 | ||
| 2025/26 | Year 7 | Year 8 | 7 places | Year 9 | 9 places | 16 |