Ormston School, Leeds

Special
Other independent special school
Mixed
Ages 518

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mr James Brown
Pupils:42 / 100 capacity
LA:Leeds
Phone:01135655210
Address:Alma Road, Headingley, Leeds, LS6 2AH
Admissions:Selective
Status:open
Opened:22 August 2024

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 9 months ago
-

Overall

Inspected 1 December 2025View full report
URN:150968
UKPRN:10097871
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Leeds Central and Headingley
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

Ormston School excels at creating a warm, supportive environment where pupils with autism and other SEND feel genuinely safe and valued. Staff build strong relationships with every child and provide swift, thoughtful support when pupils become overwhelmed. The school offers an exciting, real-world curriculum including visits to cricket grounds, growing food for community markets, and outdoor learning in the wooded grounds - giving pupils practical skills and confidence alongside their academic learning.

Key Strengths

  • Strong relationships between staff and pupils create a safe, calm, and supportive environment where pupils feel settled and well cared for
  • Broad and ambitious curriculum with good specialist support for pupils' individual needs, including personalised phonics teaching that builds reading skills
  • Excellent personal development programme preparing pupils for life in modern Britain, including careers guidance and real-world learning through community projects
  • High staff morale with strong professional development opportunities, including training to support SEND needs

Areas for Improvement

  • Most able pupils do not receive consistently ambitious teaching across all subjects, leading to variability in challenge and some pupils not deepening their knowledge as well as they could
  • Insufficient focus on technical aspects of writing such as spelling, punctuation, grammar and handwriting, meaning some pupils struggle to write accurately and independently

Safeguarding

Safeguarding arrangements are effective with strong safeguarding culture and clear procedures in place.

Extracurricular Activities

Cricket, urban market food sales, outdoor learning activities in wooded grounds, young marketeers business programme, careers education and guidance

Ormston School is an independent special school for pupils aged 5-18 with a primary focus on supporting those with autism and other SEND needs. The school is rated Good overall and has been judged to meet all independent school standards.

At a Glance

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

12 responses
Would recommend92%
Child is happy83%
Well taught92%
Good progress100%
Feels safe83%
Well behaved75%
Bullying dealt with50%
Kept informed92%
Handles concerns83%
Wider development92%

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

Class Sizes

0.0

Avg class size

0

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Bus Stops

Grove Ln Grove Road
162m · 3 min walk
Headingley Arndale (at)
247m · 4 min walk
Shaw Lane
275m · 4 min walk
Moor Road
302m · 5 min walk
North Lane Library
325m · 5 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

42%

Available places

42 pupils

100 capacity

58 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Leeds

High pressure
New homes approved:6,316
Projected new pupils:1,137

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Leeds

Admissions Demand - Leeds

Low demand0.95x oversubscription

Places available

9,889

Applications

9,401

Got 1st preference

84.0%

Got preferred school

95.4%

Secondary admissions across Leeds (2025/26)

Inspection History(3)

1 December 2025
1 July 2025
24 July 2024

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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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