Skip to content
19 April 2026

Tag: special school

Closing special school rapped by Ofsted ‘frustrated’ by lack of LA support

Leaders at a special school judged ineffective during the pandemic have been left “frustrated” by a lack of support from their local authority ahead of the school’s closure, an Ofsted report has found. Hunters Hill College, in Bromsgrove, is one of only a handful of schools found by the watchdog to not be supporting children […]

Covid-19: Ofsted rebukes school that did not contact pupils ‘frequently enough’

Ofsted has accused one of the largest special schools in the country of failing to contact its pupils often enough during partial closures – leaving children “at risk of harm”. The watchdog said safeguarding arrangements at Severndale Specialist Academy in Shrewsbury were “not effective” after an emergency inspection in July. The “no formal designation” inspection […]

Coronavirus: Government will move staff to keep ‘majority’ of special schools open

The government wants to keep the “majority” of special schools open amid the coronavirus crisis, and will move staff into those with shortages if necessary to avoid closure. Some schools with highly vulnerable pupils shut this week after government guidance on Monday stated people with underlying health issues should observe social distancing, with staff also […]

Coronavirus: Specialist schools with highly vulnerable pupils decide to close

A number of specialist schools have decided to close in the coming days, with headteachers hitting out at the government for a lack of guidance over how to protect vulnerable pupils amid the coronavirus pandemic. Just yesterday the Medicine in Specialist Schools steering group wrote to the government calling for clear guidance on how to […]

Special school with ‘serious, widespread’ safeguarding failures to get a new sponsor

A residential special school in Worcestershire will be moved to a new academy trust after inspectors identified “serious, widespread” safeguarding failures. The boss of the academy trust in charge at Vale of Evesham School today admitted that mistakes at the school had led to “catastrophic results”, including the recruitment of a member of grounds staff […]