Wargrave House School, Newton-le-Willows

Good
Special
Non-maintained special school
Mixed
Ages 416

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Ms Julliet Doherty
Pupils:74 / 90 capacity
LA:St. Helens
Phone:01925224899
Address:449 Wargrave Road, Newton-le-Willows, WA12 8RS
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open
Opened:6 December 2004

Ofsted Rating

Good

Overall

URN:134888
UKPRN:10015778
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:St Helens North
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

Wargrave House School excels at welcoming and supporting pupils who have experienced disrupted schooling, helping them rebuild trust and confidence. Staff create warm, respectful relationships that make pupils feel valued and safe, while providing personalised support tailored to each child's individual needs. The school offers a rich curriculum with outdoor learning, enrichment activities, and therapeutic approaches that help pupils thrive and achieve well from their starting points.

Key Strengths

  • Strong focus on communication and reading skills with well-chosen strategies like visual aids and verbal reinforcement
  • Skilled staff trained in de-escalation techniques who create a settled, orderly environment where pupils feel safe
  • Personalised therapeutic support and close work with professionals (occupational therapists, speech and language therapists) to help pupils overcome barriers to learning
  • High-quality careers programme that prepares all pupils for appropriate progression to further education, employment or training
  • Comprehensive personal development programme including enrichment activities, sports clubs, dance, and outdoor learning experiences

Areas for Improvement

  • For a small number of older pupils, the curriculum is not as ambitious as it could be, which can limit progress
  • Some staff occasionally intervene too quickly before pupils have time to think through responses, limiting independence and resilience
  • Impact of pupil premium funding on disadvantaged pupils' attendance and behaviour is not monitored closely enough, making it harder to adjust strategies in a timely way

Safeguarding

Safeguarding standards are met - the school has established an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, concerns are actively identified and acted upon, and pupils are made safer and feel safe.

Extracurricular Activities

Sports clubs, dance (Bollywood and Chinese dance), school pantomime, bowling, school council, pool table, outdoor activities (rock climbing, cycling), radio studio, school shop and cafe, visits to colleges, parks and museums, enterprise activities

Wargrave House School is a nurturing specialist school that supports pupils with autism and complex needs, many of whom have experienced disrupted education. The school creates a calm, inclusive environment where pupils develop positive relationships with staff and make secure progress from their individual starting points.

At a Glance

4.1%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder

SEN Provision

No

Special Measures

Class Sizes

0.0

Avg class size

0

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Train Stations

Earlestown Rail Station (Entrance)
918m · 15 min walk

Bus Stops

Church Drive (nr)
93m · 2 min walk
Fearnley Way (adj)
191m · 3 min walk
Tyrer Road (adj)
198m · 3 min walk
Bradlegh Road (nr)
287m · 5 min walk
Park Avenue South (opp)
335m · 5 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

82%

Available places

74 pupils

90 capacity

16 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Newton-le-Willows

Low pressure
New homes approved:245
Projected new pupils:44

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Newton-le-Willows

Admissions Demand - St. Helens

Low demand0.89x oversubscription

Places available

2,109

Applications

1,879

Got 1st preference

96.9%

Got preferred school

99.5%

Secondary admissions across St. Helens (2025/26)

Inspection History(106)

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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Pupil Absence
2024/25

11.84306%

Overall absence

25.97403%

Persistent absence

77

Enrolments

Authorised6.62733%
Unauthorised5.21572%
Persistent (10%+)25.97403%
Severe (50%+)7.79221%

Absence trend

9.55296%
18/19
15.58522%
20/21
10.69571%
21/22
10.79333%
22/23
10.30367%
23/24
11.84306%
24/25
Overall absence rate

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

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