Willow Tree Park, Lymm
Willow Tree Park is a special school for pupils aged 4 to 25 in Lymm. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2025.
- Ofsted
- Good (2025)
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Willow Tree Park in detail
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to Willow Tree Park are Chaigeley School (0.9 miles, Good); Fox Wood Special School (2.4 miles, Good); Woolston Brook School (2.5 miles, Good); and Green Lane Community Special School (2.5 miles, Outstanding).
Chaigeley SchoolFox Wood Special SchoolWoolston Brook SchoolGreen Lane Community Special School
What parents say
17 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Willow Tree Park (as of September 2025): 100% would recommend the school, 100% say their child is happy there and 67% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that the school supports their child's wider development (100%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (67%).
Who goes there
Almost every pupil at Willow Tree Park has an education, health and care plan (77 of 77 in 2026).
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Birchwood Rail Station, about 2.6 miles away in a straight line.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 14 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and criminal damage and arson. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Warrington (96).
Sources: Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Sixth Form
Safeguarding: effective
Independent school standards
Met all the independent school standards.
- Part 1: quality of educationMet
- Part 2: pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural developmentMet
- Part 3: welfare, health and safetyMet
- Part 4: suitability of staff and proprietorsMet
- Part 5: premises and accommodationMet
- Part 6: information for parentsMet
- Part 7: handling of complaintsMet
- Part 8: leadership and managementMet
Source: Ofsted, non-association independent schools inspections and outcomes (Open Government Licence)
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's January 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Willow Tree Park is a warm, supportive environment where pupils arrive excited to learn. The school excels at treating each child as a valued individual and supporting their behaviour development, helping them build life skills for their future. With an outstanding sixth form and remarkable range of enrichment activities, the school successfully prepares pupils for the next stage of their lives.
Key Strengths
- Pupils' behaviour and attitudes are outstanding, with highly skilled staff supporting positive conduct throughout the school
- Exceptional provision for wider development including sports, arts, music, drama, and outdoor activities that build confidence and skills
- Strong sixth-form curriculum with excellent preparation for life after school, including work experience and employability skills
- Carefully sequenced curriculum tailored to individual pupil needs, leading to recognised qualifications including GCSEs
- Exceptionally high attendance rates, particularly impressive given many pupils previously had very low attendance
Areas for Improvement
- Some teachers need more training and consistency in selecting appropriate activities to develop pupils' early writing skills, as current approaches don't give all pupils enough practice opportunities
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with the school prioritising pupil welfare and maintaining compliance with all required standards.
Extracurricular Activities
Sports, arts, music, drama opportunities, Duke of Edinburgh scheme, work experience placements
Willow Tree Park is a small independent special school for pupils aged 4-25 with autism spectrum disorder and other special educational needs. The school provides a high-quality education with an overall effectiveness rating of Good, outstanding behaviour and personal development, and exceptional sixth-form provision.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
17 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby schools
Keep up with Willow Tree Park
Getting There
Bus Stops
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 8
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 2
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 8 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 6 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
3 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 Warrington is 11 (the median across 96 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
96%
Near capacity
77 pupils
80 places
3 spare places
as recorded on GIAS
Area Demand Pressure - Lymm
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Lymm
Across Warrington council
Places available
2,880
Applications
2,620
Got 1st preference
88.9%
Got preferred school
98.2%
All secondary applications across Warrington council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(9)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
0
SEN Support
77
EHC Plans
100.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Willow Tree Park is not approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
No need-level breakdown available
Pupil Demographics
Key Indicators
77
Total Pupils
61
Boys
16
Girls
2026 academic year
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Questions parents ask about Willow Tree Park
What is Willow Tree Park's Ofsted rating?
Willow Tree Park was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in January 2025.
Does Willow Tree Park meet the independent school standards?
At its most recent standard inspection, in January 2025, Willow Tree Park met all the independent school standards.
How many pupils go to Willow Tree Park?
Willow Tree Park has around 77 pupils on roll.
Does Willow Tree Park have specialist SEN provision?
Willow Tree Park is not approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
How do I apply to Willow Tree Park?
Willow Tree Park is an independent school and runs its own admissions rather than going through the local authority. Contact the school directly for entry requirements, assessment dates, fees and any bursaries.
How many road collisions happen near Willow Tree Park?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 8 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 2 serious and 6 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 3 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 Warrington is 11 (the median across 96 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Willow Tree Park?
Willow Tree Park is at Willow Tree Park, Beech House, Lymm, Cheshire, WA13 0GH.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)