Wightwick Hall School

Wightwick Hall School is a special school in the Endeavour Multi Academy Trust that caters for 164 pupils, all of whom have an education, health and care plan. Since its last inspection, the school has grown significantly, now supporting a broader range of complex needs including autism, speech, language and communication needs, and complex learning difficulties. Inspectors found the school performing well overall, with provision judged as strong for personal development and wellbeing, and expected standard across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, and post-16 provision. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe, understood and valued in a calm and purposeful environment. Strengths include a highly effective personal development and wellbeing programme that prepares pupils for adulthood from the outset, superb pastoral care, and a curriculum tailored across four pathways to meet individual needs. Pupils benefit from enriching experiences such as running the school coffee shop, community-based learning, and careers guidance. Relationships between staff and pupils are respectful, behaviour is calm, and pupils are eager to learn. The post-16 provision equips students well for further education, employment and independent living. Areas for development include embedding recently introduced systems for analysing attendance, achievement and pupil outcomes so they are used consistently to evaluate impact over time. Leaders also need to ensure that revised curriculum and teaching approaches are implemented consistently across all pathways and classrooms, as some newer strategies are not yet fully embedded. Governance and trust support are effective, and leaders have an accurate understanding of the school's strengths and priorities for improvement.

Strengths

• Personal development and wellbeing provision is highly effective and prepares pupils for adulthood from the start.
• Pupils receive superb pastoral guidance, with strong support for mental health and therapeutic needs.
• Staff know pupils' individual needs, interests and motivations exceptionally well.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of carefully organised opportunities to prepare for adult life, such as budgeting, shopping and cooking.
• Pupils learn about healthy relationships, keeping safe, and fundamental British values, including democracy.
• Behaviour across the school is calm and purposeful, with respectful relationships between staff and pupils.
• The curriculum is thoughtfully designed across four pathways to meet diverse academic and specialist needs.
• Reading is prioritised appropriately, including phonics for pupils at earlier stages.
• Inclusion is central to the school's work, with accurate understanding of individual barriers to learning.
• Leaders demonstrate ambition for vulnerable groups, including pupils eligible for pupil premium and those with disrupted education.
• Post-16 provision effectively prepares students for adulthood, employment and greater independence.
• The school benefits from collaborative support and challenge from the trust, governors and external agencies.
• Pupils attend school regularly, enjoy coming to school and participate positively in lessons and wider activities.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.

Areas for Improvement

• Leaders' analysis of attendance patterns and trends for different groups is not fully embedded.
• Newer teaching approaches and strategies are not yet implemented consistently across all classrooms and pathways.
• Systems to evaluate the impact of provision for different groups are not fully embedded across the school.
• Recently introduced systems for analysing attendance, achievement and other pupil outcomes need to be embedded and used consistently to evaluate impact over time.
• The revised curriculum and teaching approaches need to be implemented consistently across all pathways and classrooms.

In 2024–25 pupils at Wightwick Hall School attended 84.2% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 38.6% 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, 9.1% of pupils at Wightwick Hall 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 Wightwick Hall School had 7.6 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 Wightwick Hall School had 175 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; profound and multiple learning difficulty; social, emotional and mental health; 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 Wightwick Hall School received £25,990 and spent £23,511 for each of its 164 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £174,000 (-£1,063 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Endeavour Multi Academy Trust, income was £11,845 and spending £11,576 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 Wolverhampton · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

Wightwick Hall School is part of Endeavour Multi Academy Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Cherry Trees School Wolverhampton
• Two Rivers High School Tamworth
• Two Rivers Primary School Tamworth
• River View Primary and Nursery School Burton-On-Trent
• Christ Church Primary School Burton-On-Trent
• Tower View Primary School Burton-On-Trent

What is Wightwick Hall School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Wightwick Hall School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Wightwick Hall School last inspected by Ofsted?

Wightwick Hall School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Wightwick Hall School have?

Wightwick Hall School has 175 pupils on roll.

What age range does Wightwick Hall School cover?

Wightwick Hall School for pupils aged 11 to 19.

Where is Wightwick Hall School?

Wightwick Hall School is at Tinacre Hill, Compton, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV6 8DA.