The Cedars Academy, Gateshead
The Cedars Academy is a special school for pupils aged 3 to 19 in Gateshead, part of The Cedars Academy Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in September 2017. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in January 2023 did not change this grade.
- Ofsted
- Good (2017)
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
The Cedars Academy in detail
The Cedars Academy in its own words
In its own words: "Cedars Academy is a special academy in Gateshead for children and young people with complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Every pupil has an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP)."
Vision and values (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to The Cedars Academy are Dryden School (1 mile, Outstanding); Furrowfield School (1.1 miles, Good); Hill Top School (1.4 miles, Good); and Gibside School (1.6 miles, Outstanding).
Dryden SchoolFurrowfield SchoolHill Top SchoolGibside School
The trust
The Cedars Academy is run by its own single-school academy trust.
Where pupils go next
Of the 27 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 100% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 11% to a further education college.
Who goes there
55.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, and 8.2% speak English as an additional language, according to the 2026 school census.
Almost every pupil at The Cedars Academy has an education, health and care plan (293 of 293 in 2026). The most common need among them is autism.
The Cedars Academy provides for pupils with speech, language and communication needs and physical disability.
Getting there
The nearest tram or metro stop is Felling (Tyne and Wear Metro Station), about 1.9 miles away in a straight line.
10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Durham Road-Cedars Green (s-bound), 240 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood The Cedars Academy stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
The Cedars Academy recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 4 years agoThis judgement is from September 2017, 9 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its September 2017 inspection - unchanged since its previous inspection.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
55.6%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
Yes
Sixth Form
Speech and language, Physical
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 0% to 8% (2024 to 2025), while maths has improved from 0% to 8% (2024 to 2025).
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby schools
Social & online
Keep up with The Cedars Academy
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to The Cedars Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. The Cedars Academy is in Gateshead; for families living there:
Apply to Gateshead for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 10
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 10 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 8 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot.
4 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 Gateshead is 11 (the median across 93 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
123%
Over capacity
293 pupils
238 places
55 pupils over capacity
as recorded on GIAS
Area Demand Pressure - Gateshead
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Gateshead
Across Gateshead council
Places available
2,288
Applications
1,850
Got 1st preference
87.1%
Got preferred school
97.7%
All secondary applications across Gateshead council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
0
SEN Support
293
EHC Plans
100.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
The Cedars Academy provides for pupils with speech, language and communication needs and physical disability.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
293
Total Pupils
212
Boys
81
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
48
Teachers
6.1:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£49,765
Mean salary
2026 data
Pupil Absence2024/25
6.7%
Overall absence
21.4%
Persistent absence
206
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
The Cedars Academy
Showing 10 of 14 linked schools
Questions parents ask about The Cedars Academy
What are GCSE results like at The Cedars Academy?
In the 2026 results, pupils at The Cedars Academy achieved an Attainment 8 score of 0.8. 3% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is The Cedars Academy's Ofsted rating?
The Cedars Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in January 2023, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in September 2017, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for The Cedars Academy?
No fixed boundary. When The Cedars Academy is oversubscribed, Gateshead allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
How many pupils go to The Cedars Academy?
The Cedars Academy has around 293 pupils on roll. 56% are eligible for free school meals.
Does The Cedars Academy have specialist SEN provision?
The Cedars Academy provides for pupils with speech, language and communication needs and physical disability.
What is attendance like at The Cedars Academy?
6.7% of sessions were missed at The Cedars Academy in 2024/25. 21.4% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to The Cedars Academy?
Apply through Gateshead's coordinated admissions process, naming The Cedars Academy on your application. The national closing date in England is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.
How many road collisions happen near The Cedars Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 10 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 8 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot. 4 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 Gateshead is 11 (the median across 93 schools, same distance and years).
Where is The Cedars Academy?
The Cedars Academy is at Ivy Lane, Low Fell, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, NE9 6QD.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)