Windlehurst School

Windlehurst School is a small SEMH special school where all 54 pupils have an education, health and care plan. Following the July 2026 inspection, it has been judged to require special measures because pupils are not receiving an acceptable standard of education and leaders and governors have not shown the capacity to secure the necessary improvement. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils generally feel safe and have positive relationships with staff. The main concerns are substantial and interconnected. Pupils underachieve because the curriculum is too narrow, teaching is consistently weak and expectations are low, and leaders overestimate the quality of provision. Identification of pupils' wider learning needs is ineffective, support is often poorly matched, and attendance and behaviour are serious weaknesses; persistent absence is very high and disruption affects learning. Personal development lacks coherent strategy, and governance and leadership oversight are not robust enough to drive improvement. Positive features include staff commitment to pupils' individual needs, pastoral support, enrichment such as swimming and climbing, educational visits, careers-related experience, and consideration for staff wellbeing. However, these strengths are not yet translated into consistently effective education, and pupils remain poorly prepared for the next stage of education, employment or training.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture of safeguarding.
• Staff demonstrate a clear commitment to meeting pupils' individual needs.
• Pupils develop positive relationships with staff and feel safe in school.
• The pastoral team provides regular support and guidance to pupils.
• Enrichment activities such as swimming and climbing help build confidence, resilience and teamwork.
• Educational visits broaden pupils' understanding of their community, heritage and the wider world.
• Careers education and work-related experience help pupils consider future pathways.
• Leaders give due consideration to staff wellbeing and workload.
• Bullying is usually resolved before it escalates, and pupils report that staff deal with it appropriately.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils underachieve and progress from their starting points is too slow.
• The curriculum is too narrow and does not prepare pupils well for future learning.
• Teaching is consistently weak, with low expectations and insufficient challenge.
• Pupils lack secure foundational literacy skills, and errors in grammar, punctuation and spelling are often uncorrected.
• Attendance remains too low, with persistent absence very high and entrenched.
• Disruption to learning is too common, and behaviour management is not applied consistently.
• Some pupils use inappropriate and derogatory language, and leaders have not done enough to eradicate this.
• Leaders overestimate the effectiveness of the curriculum and teaching and lack an accurate understanding of weaknesses.
• Leaders have not established robust systems to identify pupils' learning needs accurately.
• Leaders focus too narrowly on social, emotional and mental health needs at the expense of wider learning needs.
• Support and interventions are often inappropriate, ineffective or poorly matched to pupils' needs.
• Pupil premium funding is not used effectively and its impact is not evaluated rigorously.
• The personal development programme lacks coherent strategy and does not embed fundamental British values or protected characteristics well.
• Governance lacks robust oversight and does not hold leaders fully to account.
• Professional development is not clearly matched to staff training needs and has not improved practice.
• Pupils are poorly prepared for the next stage of education, employment or training.
• Two alternative provisions used by the school are unregistered.

In 2024–25 pupils at Windlehurst School attended 53.3% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 83.9% 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, 24.1% of pupils at Windlehurst 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 Windlehurst School had 5.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.5%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26 Windlehurst School had 65 pupils, 100.0% of them with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 99.5%).

It says it provides for: social, emotional and mental health.

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 special school schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Windlehurst School received £31,086 and spent £29,894 for each of its 65 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £122,000 (£1,871 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

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• Secondary Schools

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What is Windlehurst School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Windlehurst School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Windlehurst School last inspected by Ofsted?

Windlehurst School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Windlehurst School have?

Windlehurst School has 65 pupils on roll.

What age range does Windlehurst School cover?

Windlehurst School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

Where is Windlehurst School?

Windlehurst School is at Windlehurst Road, Hawk Green, Marple, Stockport, Cheshire, SK6 7HZ.