Coombswood Special School, Halesowen
Coombswood Special School is a special school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Halesowen. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in September 2024. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in May 2025 did not change this grade.
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement (2024)
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Coombswood Special School in detail
Coombswood Special School in its own words
In its own words: "Coombswood School is a Special Educational Needs secondary school which is located in Halesowen, Dudley. We support learners aged 11-16 years old, with a wide range of Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs, in particular, Autism, and leaners with mild learning difficulties."
Vision and values (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to Coombswood Special School are Halesbury School (0.7 miles, Requires improvement); The Westminster School (1.2 miles, Good); INNOV4TE Independent School (1.9 miles, Good); and The Orchard School (2 miles, Requires improvement).
Halesbury SchoolThe Westminster SchoolINNOV4TE Independent SchoolThe Orchard School
Who goes there
Almost every pupil at Coombswood Special School has an education, health and care plan (33 of 33 in 2026).
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Old Hill Rail Station, about 800 metres away (roughly a 10-minute walk).
16 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Station Road (opposite), 110 metres away.
Sources: DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport)
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 1 year agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Safeguarding: effective
Independent school standards
Did not meet the independent school standards in Part 1 (quality of education) and Part 8 (leadership and management).
- Part 1: quality of educationNot met
- Part 2: pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural developmentMet
- Part 3: welfare, health and safetyMet
- Part 4: suitability of staff and proprietorsMet
- Part 5: premises and accommodationMet
- Part 6: information for parentsMet
- Part 7: handling of complaintsMet
- Part 8: leadership and managementNot met
Progress-monitoring inspection, 7 May 2025: The school met all the standards Ofsted checked.
Source: Ofsted, non-association independent schools inspections and outcomes (Open Government Licence)
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's May 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Coombswood Special School excels at personalising education for each pupil, carefully matching learning activities to individual needs and abilities. Teachers are well-trained with secure subject knowledge and make excellent use of specialist resources and equipment. The school has a thoughtful, sequenced curriculum that builds pupils' knowledge over time and includes detailed guidance for adapting lessons to support different needs.
Key Strengths
- Detailed curriculum schemes of work with precise guidance on how to adapt lessons for pupils with specific needs such as sensory difficulties
- Highly personalised learning activities carefully tailored to each pupil's individual needs and education, health and care plan targets
- Teachers demonstrate secure subject knowledge and make effective use of high-quality resources to support pupils' special education needs
- Pupils achieve well and take great care with their work across the curriculum, with high expectations leading to successful outcomes
- Effective system for checking how well pupils learn the curriculum, with teachers making checks in every lesson and using this information to enhance provision
Safeguarding
No safeguarding information was evaluated in this progress monitoring inspection, which focused on curriculum and leadership standards only.
Coombswood Special School is an independent special school for pupils aged 11-16 with social, emotional and mental health needs and autistic spectrum conditions. The school met all independent school standards checked during this inspection.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby schools
Latest from Coombswood Special School
Melrose Education strengthens wellbeing support for learners, families and colleagues
16 Jul 2026
Coombswood School Achieves Prestigious School Games Gold Mark Award
3 Jul 2026
Coombswood School Celebrates the Power of Music with Wellbeing Afternoon
1 Jul 2026
Coombswood School celebrates strong Ofsted inspection outcome
16 Jun 2026
World Book Day Celebrations Bring Stories to Life
4 Mar 2026
Football Kit Boost for Coombswood Learners
2 Mar 2026
From Coombswood Special School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Social & online
Keep up with Coombswood Special School
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 14
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 14 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 9 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt.
1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Dudley is 18 (the median across 118 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
66%
Available places
33 pupils
50 places
17 spare places
as recorded on GIAS
Area Demand Pressure - Halesowen
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Halesowen
Across Dudley council
Places available
3,620
Applications
3,570
Got 1st preference
87.1%
Got preferred school
98.0%
All secondary applications across Dudley council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(3)
Independent school Progress Monitoring inspection
Outcome: the school met all the standards Ofsted checked.
Independent school standard inspection - first
Did not meet the independent school standards in Part 1 (quality of education) and Part 8 (leadership and management).
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
0
SEN Support
33
EHC Plans
100.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Coombswood Special School is not approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
No need-level breakdown available
Pupil Demographics
Key Indicators
33
Total Pupils
28
Boys
5
Girls
2026 academic year
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Coombswood Special School
Showing 10 of 15 linked schools
Questions parents ask about Coombswood Special School
What is Coombswood Special School's Ofsted rating?
Coombswood Special School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in May 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in September 2024, it was rated Requires Improvement.
Does Coombswood Special School meet the independent school standards?
At its most recent standard inspection, in September 2024, Coombswood Special School did not meet the independent school standards in Part 1 (quality of education) and Part 8 (leadership and management). At a later progress-monitoring inspection in May 2025, the school met all the standards Ofsted checked.
How many pupils go to Coombswood Special School?
Coombswood Special School has around 33 pupils on roll.
Does Coombswood Special School have specialist SEN provision?
Coombswood Special School is not approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
How do I apply to Coombswood Special School?
Coombswood Special School is an independent school and runs its own admissions rather than going through the local authority. Contact the school directly for entry requirements, assessment dates, fees and any bursaries.
How many road collisions happen near Coombswood Special School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 14 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 9 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt. 1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Dudley is 18 (the median across 118 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Coombswood Special School?
Coombswood Special School is at Laborem Place, Halesowen, West Midlands, B62 8BH.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)