Our History

Our History

Aspris was formerly part of the Priory Group, the leading independent provider of behavioural care in the UK. Our organisation builds on the well-established positive reputation of this company, which has a long and prestigious history.

An American healthcare company founded the Priory Group in 1980, with the purchase of Priory Hospital Roehampton. The Roehampton site has been in continuous operation since its launch in 1872 by renowned Psychiatrist, Dr William Wood. Over the years that followed, the Priory Group acquired more hospitals and diversified its services.

In 1993, Priory moved into specialist education services with the purchase of Jacques Hall Foundation, followed by an adolescent therapeutic community in Manningtree, Essex. Further acquisitions across the UK followed, such as Castlecare, a leading national provider of children’s services, including residential homes and specialist schools.

In 2017, Aspire Scotland joined Priory’s education and children’s services division. Aspire provides education and care to young people aged from seven to 18 years with complex needs, and has a portfolio of seven children’s homes and a day school.

In January 2021, the Priory Group was acquired by Waterland and Aspris was subsequently established in July 2021 as a standalone company under Waterland’s ownership, providing the valuable opportunity to focus solely on the development of our children’s services in the UK and Middle East, and Healthcare services in the Middle East.

Our Middle East Services

Our first school outside of the UK opened in Abu Dhabi in 2019, providing specialist education for young people with autism. This was followed by the opening of the Al Karamah Training Institute on the same campus, which offers specialist training and work experience for young people on the autistic spectrum.

Our Wellbeing Clinics initially opened in Dubai and more recently in Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia, providing high quality support for a wide range of mental health conditions, delivered by highly-trained experts in their field.