Pinewood School

Pinewood School is a special school for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, all of whom have an education, health and care plan. Following a full inspection in May 2026, safeguarding standards are met and the school is at the expected standard for attendance and behaviour, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Pupils feel safe, behave well, attend regularly with support, and benefit from a broad personal development programme, positive relationships and effective care. Leaders are ambitious and have managed significant change well, including a move to a new building, with generally positive staff and governance relationships. However, achievement, curriculum and teaching, and inclusion all require attention. Historic weaknesses in assessment mean staff do not always have precise starting points or know what pupils already know, which limits the quality of feedback and the precision of teaching adaptations. Learning targets linked to education, health and care plans are often too broad, so gaps are not identified and closed quickly enough, and some pupils are not moved on promptly when ready. Curriculum and teaching improvements are underway but remain at an early stage, and some parents say communication between home and school is not effective enough. The school's next steps focus on securing accurate assessment, improving the consistency and quality of teaching adaptations, and strengthening parent and carer communication. Its strengths include a safe and inclusive culture, positive behaviour, strong personal development and pastoral support, and successful transition to further education for most pupils.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met within an open and positive culture.
• Pupils feel safe, enjoy learning and are well cared for.
• Most pupils attend regularly and receive effective support to overcome barriers to attendance.
• Behaviour is calm and purposeful, with positive relationships and rare bullying.
• Leaders are ambitious and have sustained improvement during significant change.
• Personal development provision is broad, ambitious and supports mental health and wellbeing.
• Pupils build independence, confidence, life skills and social skills.
• Careers education and transition to further education are effective for most pupils.
• Staff value leaders' open-door approach and consideration of workload and wellbeing.
• The curriculum is ambitious, typically well sequenced and prioritises reading, communication, English, mathematics and personal development.

Areas for Improvement

• Historic weaknesses in assessment limit pupils' progress.
• Checks on pupils' learning are imprecise, so staff are not always clear what pupils already know.
• Feedback to pupils about next steps is not precise enough.
• Pupils do not routinely achieve as highly as they could.
• Learning targets and education, health and care plan goals are too broad to measure and track accurately.
• Teaching adaptations are not consistently matched to individual needs; work can be too easy or too hard.
• Leaders do not have the detailed information needed to ensure gaps and barriers close quickly enough.
• Curriculum and teaching improvements are still at an early stage.
• Support for pupils to build securely on prior knowledge is variable.
• Some parents feel communication between school and home is not as effective as it should be.

In 2024–25 pupils at Pinewood School attended 89.9% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 26.5% 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, 5.7% of pupils at Pinewood 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 Pinewood School had 8.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.4% 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 Pinewood School had 206 pupils, 100.0% of them with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 99.5%).

It says it provides for: moderate learning difficulty; speech, language and communication needs; 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 2024–25 Pinewood School received £21,139 and spent £19,010 for each of its 209 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £911,000 (£4,359 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 Ware · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Pinewood School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Pinewood School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Pinewood School last inspected by Ofsted?

Pinewood School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Pinewood School have?

Pinewood School has 206 pupils on roll.

What age range does Pinewood School cover?

Pinewood School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

Where is Pinewood School?

Pinewood School is at Hoe Lane, Ware, Hertfordshire, SG12 9PB.