Heart of the Forest Community Special School

Heart of the Forest Community Special School is a maintained special school for pupils aged 4 to 19 with moderate, severe and profound and multiple learning difficulties. Inspectors found warm and respectful relationships between pupils and staff, pupils who are settled and safe, and effective safeguarding. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management are good. The school has experienced significant leadership, governance and staffing change since the previous inspection, but this instability has now settled, and the new team has accurately identified priorities and is working at pace to improve the school. Communication with families has improved markedly, and pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment, therapeutic and independence-building activities. The main concern is that the quality of education and sixth-form provision are not yet consistently good. The curriculum is in place and has a sharper focus on preparing pupils for adulthood, but implementation varies too much across subjects. Some staff do not know the curriculum content and expectations well enough, the communication toolkit is not used consistently, and assessment information is not routinely used to adapt the curriculum or set precise short-term targets. As a result, some pupils do not build on prior learning, communicate their knowledge securely or make the progress they could. Work to translate education, health and care plan targets into personal learning plans is too new to have benefited all pupils. There are notable strengths in pupils’ personal development, behaviour, attendance and safeguarding. Pupils take on responsibilities, access dance, music, drama and Duke of Edinburgh awards, and are supported to understand the wider world and develop resilience. Reading and phonics are promoted well, and transition planning now begins earlier. The school’s leadership is clear about what needs to improve and has a credible plan to address it, but the uneven implementation of the curriculum and assessment remains the key barrier to better achievement.

Strengths

• Warm and respectful relationships between pupils and staff
• Pupils are settled, safe and typically attend regularly
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Good behaviour and attitudes across the school
• Strong personal development through enrichment, responsibilities and British values
• Pupils’ talents and interests are nurtured through dance, music and drama
• Duke of Edinburgh awards build independence and resilience
• Effective support for pupils’ mental and physical health
• Reading and phonics are taught well, with a focus on communication
• Transition and preparation for adulthood are improving, starting earlier
• Leadership has accurately evaluated strengths and priorities after significant change
• Governors understand improvement priorities and support staff well-being

Areas for Improvement

• Quality of education is uneven across subjects
• Sixth-form provision is not yet consistently good
• Some staff do not know curriculum content and expectations well enough
• The communication toolkit is not used consistently in all subjects
• Teacher checks of what pupils know and can do are not always accurate
• Assessment information is not routinely used to adapt the curriculum or set precise short-term targets
• Some pupils do not secure new knowledge or make sufficient progress towards individual targets
• Personal learning plan work is too new to benefit all pupils

In 2024–25 pupils at Heart of the Forest Community Special School attended 85.5% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 41.2% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Heart of the Forest Community 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 Heart of the Forest Community Special School had 8.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.0% 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 Heart of the Forest Community Special School had 160 pupils, 100.0% of them with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 99.5%).

It says it provides for: severe learning difficulty; profound and multiple learning difficulty; autistic spectrum disorder.

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 Heart of the Forest Community Special School received £26,762 and spent £26,261 for each of its 160 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £237,000 (£1,482 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).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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

What is Heart of the Forest Community Special School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Heart of the Forest Community Special School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was Heart of the Forest Community Special School last inspected by Ofsted?

Heart of the Forest Community Special School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does Heart of the Forest Community Special School have?

Heart of the Forest Community Special School has 160 pupils on roll.

What age range does Heart of the Forest Community Special School cover?

Heart of the Forest Community Special School for pupils aged 4 to 19.

What are Heart of the Forest Community Special School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 0% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Heart of the Forest Community Special School?

Heart of the Forest Community Special School is at Speech House, Coleford, Gloucestershire, GL16 7EJ.