Woodlands High School, Cardiff

Woodlands High School is a school in Wales. Welsh schools are inspected by Estyn rather than Ofsted, and its latest report is published on Estyn's website.

Estyn's report on its November 2022 inspection summarises Woodlands High School like this:

"Woodlands High School is one of three special schools that form the Western Learning Federation. The federation was established in January 2018. The aim of the federation is to achieve economies of scale, develop close collaborative working across the schools for the benefit of both pupils and staff, and develop and improve leadership capacity, whilst maintaining the individual identity of each of the three schools. All three schools are served by one governing body and led by an executive headteacher, who was appointed in 2019. Since the last inspection the school has continued with its improvement journey and is run by highly capable and effective leaders who are motivated in providing the best possible learning experiences for all pupils. The school continues to be affected by staffing shortages but manages these difficulties to the best of its ability. The school has a strong culture of support for pupils and provides particularly effective formal and informal well-being support for all staff."

"Overall, Woodlands is very caring and nurturing school. Pupils develop their social skills very well and enjoy happy and respectful relationships with other pupils and staff. Staff understand and respond to the needs of pupils well. Nearly all pupils make suitable progress that is in line with their needs and ability. Staff have consistently high expectations of pupils’ attitudes to learning and behaviour. Where teaching is most effective, staff are enthusiastic and plan well for the individual needs of pupils. The school has developed a creative enquiry curriculum and pupils are engaged in curriculum planning."

"The school also supports pupils’ understanding of different cultures and traditions well and provides beneficial opportunities for pupils to experience these. Pupils are provided with valuable opportunities to learn in the local community, for example through worthwhile opportunities to undertake work experience and intern placements with businesses. These provide pupils with exciting opportunities to learn more about the world of work but more importantly pupils are valued by the host organisations for their dedication and commitment. This contributes very positively to pupils’ self-esteem. Overall, pupils at Woodlands are polite, pleasant and respectful of themselves and others."

Estyn made 3 recommendations: (1) Continue to develop pupils’ skills, particularly in reading and Welsh; (2) Strengthen tracking systems that clearly show pupils’ progress over time; (3) Evaluate the impact of the Western Learning Federation on Woodlands High School.

The nearest other special schools to Woodlands High School are Ty Gwyn Special School (under 0.1 miles), Riverbank Special School (0.1 miles), Meadowbank Special School (1.7 miles) and Ysgol Y Deri (3.2 miles).

The nearest railway station is Waun-gron Park Rail Station, about 1190 metres away (roughly a 15-minute walk).

5 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Trelai School (before), 210 metres away.