Woodlands Academy

Woodlands Academy is a special school for pupils with additional needs, predominantly autism, and all pupils have an EHC plan. Inspectors found a caring, welcoming school where pupils are happy, respectful and confident learners. Behaviour around the school is excellent, and staff support pupils’ social, emotional and mental health needs very well. The school also provides an exceptional range of personal development opportunities, including choir performances, residential experiences, community ventures and international journeys. The curriculum has been revised since the last inspection and is organised into three pathways based on the complexity of pupils’ SEND. Communication, reading and phonics are prioritised, and mathematics teaching is well tailored to pupils’ needs. Leadership at all levels is strong, staff value their training and support, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school works effectively with further education providers and employers to prepare pupils for adulthood. The main area for improvement is the assessment and tracking of pupils’ progress against the broad targets in their EHC plans. These targets are not consistently broken down into small, achievable steps that can be shared with staff, which limits the school’s overview of progress and its ability to identify gaps, particularly for pupils with the most complex needs in the yellow pathway. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the school remains part of the Raleigh Education Trust.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, respectful and confident learners in a caring, welcoming school.
• Behaviour in lessons and around school is excellent, with a calm and purposeful atmosphere.
• Staff support pupils’ social, emotional and mental health needs very well.
• The school offers an exceptional range of personal development opportunities, including choir, residencies and international journeys.
• The revised curriculum uses three pathways and is carefully sequenced to build knowledge and skills.
• Communication and reading are prioritised, with systematic phonics and consistent teaching.
• Mathematics teaching is well planned and tailored to pupils’ additional needs.
• The life skills curriculum and Five Cs values develop respectful, well-informed young citizens.
• Leadership at all levels, including governance, is strong.
• Staff value the training they receive and the support for their workload and well-being.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment does not track pupils’ achievements against EHC plan targets closely enough.
• Broad EHC plan targets are not systematically broken down into small, achievable steps shared with staff.
• This limits the school’s overview of progress and identification of gaps, particularly for yellow pathway pupils with the most complex needs.

In 2024–25 pupils at Woodlands Academy attended 87.8% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 30.3% 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, 2.1% of pupils at Woodlands 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 Woodlands Academy had 7.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.7% 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 Woodlands Academy had 96 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; vision impairment; 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 Woodlands Academy received £32,984 and spent £27,170 for each of its 95 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £381,000 (£4,009 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of Raleigh Education Trust, income was £11,428 and spending £11,356 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 Nottingham · Nottingham local authority: places and applications

Woodlands Academy is part of Raleigh Education Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Ambleside Primary School Nottingham
• Willowfield Academy Nottingham
• Ash Lea Academy Cotgrave
• Lady Jane Grey Primary School Leicester

What is Woodlands Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Woodlands Academy is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Woodlands Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Woodlands Academy was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Woodlands Academy have?

Woodlands Academy has 96 pupils on roll.

What age range does Woodlands Academy cover?

Woodlands Academy for pupils aged 3 to 16.

What are Woodlands Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

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

Where is Woodlands Academy?

Woodlands Academy is at Beechdale Road, Aspley, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG8 3EZ.