The Rose School

The Rose School is a community special school for pupils aged 11 to 16 with social, emotional and mental health needs, and all pupils have an EHC plan. Following a previous inspection that judged the school as requiring improvement, leaders and governors have addressed the identified areas with urgency and precision. Pupils now flourish in a calm, caring environment, benefit from respectful relationships and a well-considered transition programme, and most achieve well because the school has high aspirations for their achievement and conduct. The school provides an ambitious, broad curriculum and generally sets out the important knowledge pupils should learn clearly. Staff are well supported with curriculum design, and pupils typically gain qualifications that prepare them well for further study or work. The school identifies SEND accurately, provides specialist and therapeutic support, meets pupils' reading and phonics needs, and supports emotional needs and attendance effectively. Personal development is strong, including careers education and outdoor learning, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. There are two areas for improvement. In a small number of subjects, staff are not clear enough about what key knowledge to teach and when, so some activities do not help pupils learn in sufficient depth. More broadly, the school's assessment strategies are still at an early stage, meaning some gaps and misconceptions are not addressed promptly and some pupils move on to new learning before they are ready.

Strengths

• Pupils flourish in a calm school with respectful staff relationships and effective transition support.
• All pupils have SEND, and the school has high aspirations for their achievement and conduct.
• Most pupils achieve well and gain qualifications that prepare them for further study or work.
• The curriculum is ambitious and broad across a range of subjects.
• Staff are well supported with curriculum design, which helps their workload and well-being.
• The school accurately identifies additional needs and provides specialist and therapeutic support.
• Reading and phonics support helps pupils become confident, fluent readers and catch up quickly.
• The school identifies emotional needs well and provides nuanced support so pupils manage their behaviour.
• Attendance has improved and persistent absence has reduced through intelligent support and work with parents.
• Personal development prepares pupils well for adulthood, including careers education and outdoor learning.
• Governors have an accurate view of the school and carry out their statutory duties effectively.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment strategies are at early stages, so some gaps and misconceptions are not addressed promptly.
• Some pupils move on to new learning before they are ready because misconceptions are not rectified quickly enough.
• In a small number of subjects, staff are unclear about the key knowledge to teach and when to teach it.
• In those subjects, some activities do not help pupils learn in sufficient depth.

In 2024–25 pupils at The Rose School attended 71.5% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 56.4% 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, 4.2% of pupils at The Rose School were suspended at least once (nationally 5.1%). One pupil was 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 The Rose School had 7.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.7% 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 The Rose School had 88 pupils, 100.0% of them with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 99.5%).

It says it provides for: specific learning difficulty; moderate learning difficulty; severe learning difficulty; social, emotional and mental health; speech, language and communication needs; hearing impairment; 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 The Rose School received £37,891 and spent £36,374 for each of its 88 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £460,000 (-£5,231 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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What is The Rose School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Rose School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was The Rose School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Rose School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does The Rose School have?

The Rose School has 88 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Rose School cover?

The Rose School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are The Rose School's GCSE results?

In 2025 its average Attainment 8 score was 16.1, and 0% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Rose School?

The Rose School is at Greenock Street, Burnley, Lancashire, BB11 4DT.