Woodlands School
Woodview Learning Community, Picklecombe Drive, Plymouth, PL6 5ES
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Foundation special school
- Ages
- 2 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Andrea Hemmens
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- VI - Visual Impairment, HI - Hearing Impairment, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Plymouth Moor View
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 85
- Pupils on roll
- 97
- URN
- 113644
- Local authority
- Plymouth
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01752300101
About this school
Woodlands School is a foundation special school in Plymouth. It teaches children aged 2 to 19 and has 97 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Woodlands School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 8 February 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 11 | 5 | 3 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | - | - |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | - | - |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | - | - |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | - | - |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | - | - |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -4.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.30 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 8 | 7 | 7 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | 1.4 | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | 0% | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | 0% | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | 0% | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | 0.2 | - |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Woodlands School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 16.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 18.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 14.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 88 |
| 2023/24 | 85 |
| 2024/25 | 87 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 25.97%
- English as an additional language
- 4.6%
- Overall absence
- 14.87%
- Persistent absence
- 51.35%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Brook Green Centre for Learning0.8 miles
Special schools · Plymouth
-
University of St Mark & St John1.3 miles
Universities · Plymouth
-
Courtlands School1.4 miles
Academies · Plymouth
-
Mill Ford School1.4 miles
Special schools · Plymouth
-
Cann Bridge School1.8 miles
Special schools · Plymouth
Other schools in Plymouth
- ACE Schools Plymouth Academies
- Brook Green Centre for Learning Special schools
- Cann Bridge School Special schools
- Chapel Bridge School Special schools
- Courtlands School Academies
- Longcause Community Special School Special schools
- Mill Ford School Special schools
- Mount Tamar School Academies
- Ham Drive Nursery School and Day Care Nursery
- Plym Bridge Nursery School and Day Care Nursery
- Austin Farm Academy Primary
- Beechwood Primary Academy Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Woodlands School teach?
- Woodlands School teaches children aged 2 to 19. It is a special school in Plymouth.
- Who is the headteacher of Woodlands School?
- The headteacher of Woodlands School is Mrs Andrea Hemmens, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Woodlands School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Woodlands School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Woodlands School?
- Woodlands School has 97 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 19.
- Is Woodlands School full?
- Woodlands School has capacity for 85 pupils and 97 on roll (114%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Woodlands School a faith school?
- No. Woodlands School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Woodlands School have?
- The schools register lists Woodlands School's special educational needs provision as: VI - Visual Impairment; HI - Hearing Impairment; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- What is Woodlands School's absence rate?
- Woodlands School's overall absence rate is 14.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Woodlands School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Woodlands School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.