Woodlands Meed

Overview

Woodlands Meed continues to be a good school, providing an enjoyable and enriching environment for pupils with special educational needs. Leaders and staff are highly ambitious, ensuring that every pupil, including those with complex physical disabilities, can fully participate in a carefully developed wider curriculum. The school fosters a strong sense of community where pupils demonstrate exemplary behaviour and take pride in their achievements.

Strengths

• Pupils’ behaviour is described as "exemplary," with students showing "great resilience" and taking pride in their school community.
• The wider curriculum offers "exciting and enriching experiences," including residential trips planned to ensure full participation for all pupils.
• Significant improvements have been made to the reading curriculum, with staff championing the vision that "reading is our superpower," resulting in pupils reading with more pleasure.
• Pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties are "very well supported" in a caring environment, following bespoke curricula underpinned by their education, health and care plans.
• Leaders have redeveloped the careers programme to provide work experience opportunities, helping pupils gain employment in adulthood.

Areas to improve

• Not all staff teaching pupils at an early stage of learning to read and write are trained in phonics, meaning they lack the subject knowledge to explain learning clearly. Leaders must ensure all such staff are "expert in the teaching and application of phonics knowledge."

Safeguarding

The report states that "the arrangements for safeguarding are effective."