St Rose's Special School

St Rose's Special School is a non-maintained Roman Catholic special school for pupils with severe, complex, profound and multiple learning difficulties. Inspectors found that pupils flourish in a highly caring and inclusive environment, with therapy and education integrated seamlessly to support communication, emotional regulation and learning. Behaviour and attitudes and personal development are outstanding, and pupils are exceptionally well prepared for adulthood through highly individualised guidance and wide-ranging opportunities. The quality of education, leadership and management, and early years provision are good. The curriculum has been revised well and pupils benefit from strong relationships, effective safeguarding and supportive governance. Staff know pupils' needs very well and use bespoke approaches to help them learn and communicate. There are two main areas for improvement. The teaching of reading is not consistently adapted to meet the learning needs and interests of pupils in some curriculum areas, which limits how well some pupils learn. Subject leadership is relatively new in some areas, and the curriculum in a minority of subjects is not yet fully implemented, so subject leaders need continued support to ensure consistent sequencing and planning.

Strengths

• Pupils flourish in a caring, inclusive environment with very positive relationships and strong attendance.
• Therapy and education are integrated seamlessly to support pupils' communication and emotional regulation.
• Behaviour and attitudes are exceptional, with staff using bespoke approaches to meet pupils' social and emotional needs.
• Personal development is outstanding, including strong opportunities for citizenship, clubs, sport, sign language and student council participation.
• Pupils are exceptionally well prepared for adulthood through individualised guidance, college visits and experiences of work and volunteering.
• Early years provision is fully inclusive and helps children develop language and social skills well.
• Staff know pupils' learning, emotional, social and physical needs very well, enabling bespoke support across the curriculum.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and governance provides suitable challenge and support.
• Staff well-being is supported exceptionally well, and staff are overwhelmingly proud to work at the school.

Areas for Improvement

• The teaching of reading is not consistently well adapted to meet the learning needs and interests of pupils in some areas of the curriculum.
• Some pupils do not learn as well as they could because reading teaching is not sufficiently tailored in those areas.
• Subject leadership is still relatively new in some subject areas.
• The curriculum in a minority of areas is not yet fully implemented or consistently well sequenced and planned.

In 2024–25 pupils at St Rose's Special School attended 88.9% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 40.5% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 35.3%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at St Rose's Special School were suspended at least once (nationally 5.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 St Rose's Special School had 75 pupils, 73.3% of them with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 98.6%).

It says it provides for: specific learning difficulty; moderate learning difficulty; severe learning difficulty; profound and multiple learning difficulty; speech, language and communication needs; hearing impairment; vision impairment; multi-sensory impairment; physical disability.

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded non-maintained special school schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Stroud · Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

What is St Rose's Special School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Rose's Special School is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was St Rose's Special School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Rose's Special School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does St Rose's Special School have?

St Rose's Special School has 75 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Rose's Special School cover?

St Rose's Special School for pupils aged 2 to 19.

Where is St Rose's Special School?

St Rose's Special School is at Stratford Lawn, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 4AP.