Wyre Forest School, Kidderminster
Wyre Forest School is a special school for pupils aged 4 to 19 in Kidderminster. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in December 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in June 2025 did not change this grade.
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Wyre Forest School in detail
Wyre Forest School in its own words
In its own words: "Welcome to Wyre Forest School. We are a specialist school for children aged 4 to 19 SLD and PMLD whose needs cannot be met in mainstream. We also have Russell House, a 16-bed weekly boarding unit. We work tirelessly to meet the needs of all the children, so they develop and progress academically, socially, emotionally, and physically."
The school runs after-school care until 4:30pm.
Vision and values (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to Wyre Forest School are Nurture Learning (0.4 miles); Southwell Education Ltd (1.9 miles); Aurora Wilden View School (3.4 miles, Good); and Cambian New Elizabethan School (4.1 miles, Requires improvement).
Nurture LearningSouthwell Education LtdAurora Wilden View SchoolCambian New Elizabethan School
What parents say
57 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Wyre Forest School (as of September 2025): 100% would recommend the school, 100% say their child is happy there and 88% 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) (88%).
Where pupils go next
Of the 8 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 100% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 25% to a further education college.
Who goes there
41.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, and 4.4% speak English as an additional language, according to the 2026 school census.
Almost every pupil at Wyre Forest School has an education, health and care plan (389 of 389 in 2026). The most common need among them is autism.
Wyre Forest School provides for pupils with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, visual impairment, other difficulties or disabilities, hearing impairment, speech, language and communication needs, autism, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Kidderminster Rail Station, about 1.3 miles away in a straight line.
4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Police Station (opposite), 70 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Wyre Forest School stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. On income deprivation affecting children it is in the 7th decile, where the 1st is the most deprived. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 336 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Worcestershire (78), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Wyre Forest School issued 10 suspensions, 2.7 for every 100 pupils, and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: Ofsted Parent View; 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 · 1 year agoThis judgement is from December 2019, 6 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Sixth Form
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school has improved significantly.
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's June 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Wyre Forest School creates a positive, purposeful environment where pupils enjoy learning and build trusting relationships with staff. Teachers are highly skilled at breaking down learning into manageable steps and using tailored communication approaches so all pupils can access the curriculum from their different starting points. The school prepares pupils well for life beyond school through practical experiences like running a community coffee shop and regular supermarket trips.
Key Strengths
- High staff expectations and belief in pupils' potential, leading to strong achievement
- Thoughtfully sequenced curriculum with expert differentiation for pupils with SEND
- Effective teaching of communication and personal development as foundations for learning
- Strong focus on building positive behavioural habits and emotional regulation
- Wide range of real-world experiences including community placements and practical life skills
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with an open and positive culture that puts pupils' interests first.
Extracurricular Activities
Community coffee shop (sixth form), supermarket trips, physical fitness activities, careers and skills focus across school
Wyre Forest School is a special school serving pupils aged 4-19 with a range of learning difficulties and disabilities. Evidence suggests the school's work has improved significantly across all areas since the previous inspection in 2019.
About
Wyre Forest School is a school in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, for students with complex special needs, and about one fifth of the students are on the autistic spectrum continuum. It caters for ages 7 to 16 and has about 120 mixed gender students on roll.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
41.9%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
Yes
Sixth Form
SpLD, Vision, Other +7
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
57 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 4 nearby schools
Keep up with Wyre Forest School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Wyre Forest School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Wyre Forest School is in Worcestershire; for families living there:
Apply to Worcestershire for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 8
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 3
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, 1 serious and 7 slight.
3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
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 Worcestershire is 5.5 (the median across 276 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
122%
Over capacity
389 pupils
320 places
69 pupils over capacity
as recorded on GIAS
Area Demand Pressure - Kidderminster
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Kidderminster
Across Worcestershire council
Places available
4,103
Applications
3,828
Got 1st preference
88.1%
Got preferred school
95.7%
All secondary applications across Worcestershire council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(6)
Ungraded inspection: The school has improved significantly.
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
0
SEN Support
389
EHC Plans
100.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Wyre Forest School provides for pupils with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, visual impairment, other difficulties or disabilities, hearing impairment, speech, language and communication needs, autism, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
389
Total Pupils
284
Boys
105
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
59
Teachers
6.6:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£52,003
Mean salary
2026 data
Pupil Absence2024/25
10.0%
Overall absence
31.1%
Persistent absence
299
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
Wyre Forest School
Showing 10 of 12 linked schools
Questions parents ask about Wyre Forest School
What are SATs results like at Wyre Forest School?
Of the pupils at Wyre Forest School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 0% reached the expected standard in reading and 0% did so in maths.
What is Wyre Forest School's Ofsted rating?
Wyre Forest School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in June 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in December 2019, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Wyre Forest School?
No fixed boundary. When Wyre Forest School is oversubscribed, Worcestershire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
How many pupils go to Wyre Forest School?
Wyre Forest School has around 389 pupils on roll. 42% are eligible for free school meals.
Does Wyre Forest School have specialist SEN provision?
Wyre Forest School provides for pupils with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, visual impairment, other difficulties or disabilities, hearing impairment, speech, language and communication needs, autism, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties.
What is attendance like at Wyre Forest School?
10% of sessions were missed at Wyre Forest School in 2024/25. 31.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Wyre Forest School?
Apply through Worcestershire's coordinated admissions process, naming Wyre Forest School 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 Wyre Forest School?
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, 1 serious and 7 slight. 3 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 1 on foot, 1 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 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 Worcestershire is 5.5 (the median across 276 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Wyre Forest School?
Wyre Forest School is at Habberley Road, Kidderminster, Worcestershire, DY11 6FA.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)