The Forest School

The Forest School is a special academy for pupils aged 2 to 16 where all pupils have an education, health and care plan. Inspectors found a welcoming, inclusive school with positive relationships between pupils and staff, ambitious and highly personalised expectations, and a calm environment in which pupils are well supported to learn and regulate their behaviour. The school has made significant progress since its previous inspection, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Behaviour and personal development are particular strengths. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are exemplary, staff use highly effective strategies to support behaviour, and the personal development programme helps pupils build confidence, leadership, independence and preparation for adulthood. Communication is supported consistently across the school, and the reading curriculum and phonics teaching have been strengthened since the last inspection. The main areas for improvement are in reading and writing. Once pupils have sounded out words, they do not get enough opportunities to re-read them, so some do not become as fluent and confident as they could. The writing curriculum also gives too little attention to spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting, which means some pupils are not able to write accurately or independently across the curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils have positive, trusting relationships with staff and greet visitors warmly.
• The curriculum is inclusive, ambitious and highly personalised to pupils’ individual needs.
• Pupils’ attitudes to learning are exemplary and they are focused and settled in lessons.
• Behaviour support is excellent, with calm routines and highly effective strategies to help pupils regulate.
• The personal development programme is a strength, building leadership, confidence and a sense of belonging.
• Preparation for adulthood and careers education begin early and include real-life experiences and independent advice.
• The total communication strategy is consistently embedded across the school.
• The reading curriculum and phonics teaching have been strengthened since the last inspection.
• The school has made significant progress since the previous inspection, with effective trust and leadership support.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not have enough opportunity to re-read words after sounding them out, limiting reading fluency and confidence.
• Reading skills beyond word reading are not taught effectively enough.
• The writing curriculum does not give enough attention to spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting.
• Some pupils are not able to write accurately or independently across all areas of the curriculum.

In 2024–25 pupils at The Forest School attended 89.7% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 29.1% 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, 2.0% of pupils at The Forest 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 The Forest School had 8.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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 Forest School had 155 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; 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 The Forest School received £25,970 and spent £24,919 for each of its 149 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £237,000 (£1,593 per pupil).

Across all 25 schools of Wellspring Academy Trust, income was £12,764 and spending £12,663 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 Knaresborough · North Yorkshire local authority: places and applications

The Forest School is part of Wellspring Academy Trust, which runs 25 schools. The nearest others:

• Forest Moor School Harrogate
• Penny Field School Leeds
• Green Meadows Academy Leeds
• Victoria Primary Academy Leeds
• Ebor Gardens Primary Academy Leeds
• Bramley Park Academy Leeds
• Springwell Leeds Academy Leeds
• Elements Primary School Leeds
• Parkside School Bradford
• Joseph Norton Academy Huddersfield

What is The Forest School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Forest School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was The Forest School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Forest School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does The Forest School have?

The Forest School has 155 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Forest School cover?

The Forest School for pupils aged 2 to 16.

Where is The Forest School?

The Forest School is at Park Lane, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, HG5 0DQ.