The Outdoors School, Exeter
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 1 year agoOverall
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
The Outdoors School excels at creating a caring, inclusive environment where every child feels they belong - from designing their own safe space when joining to contributing meaningfully to school life. Staff build genuine relationships that transform attendance and spark a love of learning, particularly in reading. The school is especially strong at supporting mental health, teaching pupils practical strategies to manage their feelings and understand themselves better.
Key Strengths
- Strong focus on mental health support - pupils learn to identify and manage feelings with practical strategies
- Excellent engagement and attendance improvements - pupils who previously had long absences now enjoy coming to school
- Highly personalised curriculum adapted to each pupil's interests and needs
- Outstanding wider development opportunities including designing play equipment, growing food, and sporting activities
- Effective relationship-building that helps pupils become resilient learners
Areas for Improvement
- Some staff lack subject knowledge and confidence in teaching numeracy, literacy and personal development curriculum
- Pupils miss opportunities to practise literacy and numeracy skills across other subjects
- Staff confidence in delivering personal, social and health education needs strengthening
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with strong policies in place and staff trained to understand and meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs.
Extracurricular Activities
Sporting activities, adventurous activities, designing and creating play equipment, growing and preparing food, Pupil Council participation, local community events including Remembrance Sunday, school picnics
The Outdoors School is a specialist independent school for pupils aged 7-16 with social, emotional and mental health needs. It has been rated Good across all areas, maintaining its previous inspection grade.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
14 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree
Class Sizes
0.0
Avg class size
0
Total classes
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
93%
Near capacity
112 pupils
120 capacity
8 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Exeter
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Exeter
Admissions Demand - Devon
Places available
8,027
Applications
7,482
Got 1st preference
93.3%
Got preferred school
98.2%
Secondary admissions across Devon (2025/26)
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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.
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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Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
The Outdoors School
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