Severndale Specialist Academy

Severndale Specialist Academy is a special school for pupils aged 2 to 19, all of whom have education, health and care (EHC) plans, and it sits within the Learning Community Trust. Following its previous inspection, where it was judged to require improvement, this inspection found the school now performing well across every area looked at, with good judgements for the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and both early years and sixth-form provision. The trust has played a substantial part in that journey, helping to establish a stable leadership team and staffing structure and taking care over workload and wellbeing while driving considerable improvement in pupils' achievements. Parents recognise the change, describing their children as happy, settled and valued, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school's vision of enabling communication, independence and enjoyment for life runs through its work, and the 'Severndale Way' gives pupils from early years to post-16 a consistent way to express their thoughts, learning and feelings, which also helps staff spot welfare concerns quickly. Staff know pupils' pastoral needs well and hold high expectations. Reading is a particular strength, with a sustained focus from the early years through to sixth form, prompt identification of gaps and extra help where needed. The curriculum is broad and carefully sequenced, behaviour is managed positively, and practical preparation for adulthood — including workplace learning, home skills, careers guidance and wider activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and community trips — is a real highlight. Two areas hold the school back from doing even better. Curriculum delivery varies somewhat from class to class, and the school's checks have not been sharply enough focused on implementation to catch and address this. Separately, while the school has reviewed every pupil's EHC plan, the targets drawn from those plans are sometimes too general, so some staff lack a precise enough picture of the specific academic and pastoral steps individual pupils need.

Strengths

• A clear vision and the 'Severndale Way' give pupils a consistent voice in their learning and help staff respond quickly to welfare concerns
• Staff hold high expectations and have designed a curriculum that helps pupils work towards and achieve them
• Reading is taught well from the early years onwards, with phonics secured and gaps closed promptly
• Pupils build on basic skills in carefully planned steps, for example early ball skills leading to skilful competitive games in key stage 3
• Learning pathways enable pupils to achieve ambitious qualifications, including GCSEs
• Practical preparation for adulthood, including workplace learning and basic home skills, is a strength of the post-16 provision
• Pupils receive quality careers information and guidance that supports successful next steps
• Behaviour is managed positively, with pupils learning routines and emotional regulation in a calm environment
• Strong, warm relationships between staff and pupils help pupils engage positively with learning
• A wide range of wider opportunities, including community activities, cultural trips and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award at the Mary Webb satellite, builds belonging and responsibility
• Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe, including travelling independently
• The school supports and challenges families effectively to secure regular attendance
• The trust has supported significant improvement, establishing stable leadership and staffing while attending to workload and wellbeing
• Staff value the training they receive to implement changes
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Parents appreciate the care and support their children receive and report that children feel happy, settled and valued

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent from class to class, meaning pupils do not always achieve as well as they might
• The school's checks on the curriculum are not focused sharply enough on how well it is being implemented, so inconsistencies go unidentified
• Targets derived from pupils' EHC plans are sometimes too general and do not reflect specific needs
• Some staff lack a precise enough understanding of the steps needed to support pupils' individual academic and pastoral needs

In 2024–25 pupils at Severndale Specialist Academy attended 89.0% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 29.5% 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, 0.7% of pupils at Severndale Specialist Academy 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 Severndale Specialist Academy had 6.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.3% 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 Severndale Specialist Academy had 424 pupils, 100.0% of them with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 99.5%).

It says it provides for: 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; autistic spectrum disorder; other difficulty or 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 special school schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Severndale Specialist Academy received £31,477 and spent £29,972 for each of its 415 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £596,000 (£1,435 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of Learning Community Trust, income was £11,793 and spending £11,570 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Shrewsbury · Shropshire local authority: places and applications

Severndale Specialist Academy is part of Learning Community Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Allscott Meads Primary Academy Telford
• Crudgington Primary School Telford
• Wrekin View Primary School Telford
• Charlton School Telford
• Ercall Wood Academy Telford
• Hadley Learning Community - Secondary Phase Telford
• Hadley Learning Community - Primary Phase Telford
• New Road Academy Telford
• Lantern Academy Telford
• Queensway Telford

What is Severndale Specialist Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Severndale Specialist Academy is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Severndale Specialist Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Severndale Specialist Academy was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Severndale Specialist Academy have?

Severndale Specialist Academy has 424 pupils on roll.

What age range does Severndale Specialist Academy cover?

Severndale Specialist Academy for pupils aged 2 to 19.

What are Severndale Specialist Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is Severndale Specialist Academy?

Severndale Specialist Academy is at Woodcote Way, Monkmoor, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY2 5SH.