Fox Wood Special School, Warrington

Good
Special
Community special school
Mixed
Ages 419

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Miss Lucinda Duffy
Pupils:174 / 78 capacity
LA:Warrington
Phone:01925811534
Address:Holes Lane, Woolston, Warrington, WA1 4LS
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open

Ofsted Rating

Good

Overall

URN:111496
UKPRN:10015338
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Warrington North
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

Fox Wood creates a warm, welcoming environment where pupils flourish with strong bonds between staff and students. The school excels at personalised support - using carefully designed systems like the 'ready to learn' routine to help every pupil thrive, regardless of their complex needs. Pupils make remarkable progress in communication, behaviour, independence and preparation for their futures, with many successfully moving into supported living, further education or paid employment.

Key Strengths

  • Exceptional attendance rates, especially given the complex medical and additional needs of pupils
  • Highly effective behaviour support systems that help pupils develop emotional regulation and communication skills
  • Outstanding inclusive approach with seamless collaboration between education, health and care professionals
  • Ambitious, personalised curriculum pathways tailored to each pupil's individual needs
  • Excellent preparation for adulthood including work experience, enterprise challenges and independent living skills

Areas for Improvement

  • Governance scrutiny systems could be more systematic, with clearer feedback mechanisms to the full governing body

Safeguarding

Safeguarding standards are met. The school has established an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified and managed, making pupils safer and helping them feel safe.

Extracurricular Activities

Cooking club, science club, space-themed exploration days, local park visits, school council, eco council, wellbeing champions, work experience, enterprise projects (sandwich delivery service, craft making)

Fox Wood Special School is an exceptional special school that demonstrates transformational impact on pupils with complex and multiple needs. The school maintains exceptionally high attendance and has developed highly effective systems to support pupils' social, emotional, behavioural and learning needs.

At a Glance

47.0%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

Yes

Sixth Form

SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty

SEN Provision

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

37 responses
Would recommend100%
Child is happy100%
Well taught97%
Good progress89%
Feels safe100%
Well behaved97%
Bullying dealt with3%
Kept informed97%
Handles concerns60%
Wider development97%

Source: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2025/26

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

2024
2025
ReadingMathsWriting

Reading has remained stable at around 0%. Maths has remained stable at around 0%. Writing has remained stable at around 0%.

Class Sizes

0.0

Avg class size

0

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Social & online

Getting There

Train Stations

Padgate Rail Station
861m · 14 min walk

Bus Stops

Woolston High School (o/s)
98m · 2 min walk
Medical Centre (nr)
153m · 2 min walk
Hillock Lane (cnr)
156m · 3 min walk
Holes Lane (opp)
318m · 5 min walk
Dog & Partridge (o/s)
356m · 6 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

223%

Over capacity

174 pupils

78 capacity

96 places over capacity

Area Demand Pressure - Warrington

Medium pressure
New homes approved:4,545
Projected new pupils:818

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Warrington

Admissions Demand - Warrington

Low demand0.92x oversubscription

Places available

2,755

Applications

2,544

Got 1st preference

91.6%

Got preferred school

98.6%

Secondary admissions across Warrington (2025/26)

Inspection History(107)

Date not published by Ofsted
Good
Date not published by Ofsted
Good
Date not published by Ofsted
Good

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SEN Provision

How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

9.58276%

Overall absence

25.4386%

Persistent absence

114

Enrolments

Authorised8.0977%
Unauthorised1.48505%
Persistent (10%+)25.4386%
Severe (50%+)2.63158%

Absence trend

9.22941%
18/19
6.40266%
20/21
10.83634%
21/22
10.05906%
22/23
9.28051%
23/24
9.58276%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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