The genesis of The Cambian Group was an 18 bed rehabilitation hospital that was piloted in 2003 in a company called NHP Healthcare Partnerships.
NHP Healthcare Partnerships was the subject of a management buyout in 2004 backed by GI Partners and Cambian Healthcare was formed.

The team was driven by a desire to deliver better life outcomes for patients, often excluded from mainstream society and stigmatised because of their illness or disabilities. To achieve this, a therapeutic programme called Active Care™ was developed.

The Active Care™ model was unique in providing a transparent and measurable way of mapping MDT inputs as well as quantitive evaluation of patient progress.

In September 2005, 7 special needs schools were purchased and Cambian Education was created. This acquisition brought with it a body of staff with over 30 years of experience and expertise in the field of Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

The Cambian Schools were the pioneers of the 52 week "Waking Day Curriculum" for students with autism and continue to lead with Information Communication Technologies in classrooms, behavioural therapy, speech and language therapy and an innovative curriculum, all encapsulated in the Active Learning™ programme. Moreover, they have been given Ofsted's highest rating and praised for delivering an "outstanding level of care and education" in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
 
Always moving toward a person-centred approach, Cambian Education and Cambian Healthcare continued to grow organically, developing leading-edge real estate and services to become market leaders in their respective fields.
During 2009, the divisions recognised the value of combining their clinical and educational functions and expertise to create a formidable force in the field of specialist healthcare and education. To this end they worked towards the creation of The Cambian Group, which was launched at the beginning of 2010.

In July 2010, The Cambian Group achieved significant growth in capability by joining with Care Aspirations, an independent provider of specialist learning disability services for adults. This provided exciting opportunities for expansion, with the plan to develop 11 assets already under its ownership over the next 18 months, which will result in 200 additional beds.

As a result of this, The Cambian Group will become the UK’s largest provider of specialist services in education, mental health and learning disabilities. It will provide care for over 1,100 individuals, in 60 facilities, employ over 3,500 staff and work with 140 public authorities.