Woodlands School
Whitegate Drive, Blackpool, FY3 9HF
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 2 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Karen Haworth
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Blackpool South
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 110
- Pupils on roll
- 111
- URN
- 119871
- Local authority
- Blackpool
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01253316722
About this school
Woodlands School is a community special school in Blackpool. It teaches children aged 2 to 19 and has 111 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 15 May 2024, 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 | 7 | 9 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | 89.0 | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | 85.0 | - |
| Reading progress | -6.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -5.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -6.20 | - | - |
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 | 9 | 5 | 7 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
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 | Blackpool average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 51.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 50.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 52.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 110 |
| 2023/24 | 110 |
| 2024/25 | 108 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 76.92%
- English as an additional language
- 6.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.75%
- Persistent absence
- 16.49%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Park Community Academy0.0 miles
Academies · Blackpool
-
Educational Diversity0.4 miles
Academies · Blackpool
-
Tower Learning Centre Independent School0.6 miles
Independent schools
-
Blackpool Skills Academy0.7 miles
Special schools · Blackpool
-
BFC School0.8 miles
Independent schools · Blackpool
Other schools in Blackpool
- Blackpool Skills Academy Special schools
- Educational Diversity Academies
- Highfurlong School Academies
- Norman House Independent School Special schools
- Park Community Academy Academies
- The Maple School Free Schools
- Thornton-Cleveleys Red Marsh School Special schools
- Baines' Endowed Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Bispham Endowed Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blackpool Gateway Academy Primary
- Blackpool St John's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Blackpool St Nicholas CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Woodlands School teach?
- Woodlands School teaches children aged 2 to 19. It is a special school in Blackpool.
- Who is the headteacher of Woodlands School?
- The headteacher of Woodlands School is Mrs Karen Haworth, 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 111 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 19.
- Is Woodlands School full?
- Woodlands School has capacity for 110 pupils and 111 on roll (101%), 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: HI - Hearing Impairment; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; 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.
- How have Woodlands School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Woodlands School's absence rate?
- Woodlands School's overall absence rate is 5.8% in the latest published census, at or below 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 30 June 2026.