Woodlands Academy was inspected in December 2024
The latest approach by Ofsted means a school has no overall grade. Now, schools receive four separate judgements and a safeguarding ‘taking or not taking effective action’ judgement.
The outcome:
Quality of education: Good
Leadership and Management: Good
Behaviour and Attitudes: Outstanding
Personal Development: Outstanding
Safeguarding: effective
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils thrive and are happy at this caring, welcoming school. They treat one another with
respect and greet visitors warmly. In lessons, they are eager, confident learners who have
highly positive attitudes to learning. Pupils typically praise the school for its ‘respectful
atmosphere’ and the kindness of staff. The small teaching groups provide pupils with the
individual attention that helps them to learn.
The school provides an exceptional range of opportunities to enhance pupils’ personal
development, including, for example, through choir performances in the city, residential
experiences, local walks, community ventures and art exhibitions. There is a notable
tradition of international journeys to Poland and Egypt. These cultural opportunities
encourage independence and nurture pupils’ talents exceptionally well.
What does the school do well?
The school prioritises communication and reading. There is a systematic approach to
teaching early reading and phonics. Well-trained staff provide consistent teaching. Pupils
read from books that match the sounds they know. They develop well as increasingly
fluent readers. Pupils who communicate by methods such as signing, or symbols, receive
equally skilled support. The whole school benefits from learning new signs in the weekly
celebration assembly.