The Woodlands
Special / other · Ferryhill · DL17 8AN
Data updated
Last grade Ofsted published, no newer grade exists
Ofsted graded this school Good in 2016. Every inspection since has been ungraded, and an ungraded inspection cannot change a grade. The most recent found “Standards maintained”. Ofsted's current data file lists only graded inspections from September 2019 onwards, so this grade has dropped out of it, but it is still the school's grade of record, and still on Ofsted's own report page. It is old, so weigh it against the more recent evidence on this page.
Inspected 15 June 2016
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
330 pupils · 330% of 100 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Pupil referral unit
- Age range
- 6–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Free school meals
- 80.6% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 0% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 12.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 1.3% of pupils (2024/2025)
- URN
- 113992
In figures
The last grade Ofsted published for it is Good, from 2016. It had 330 pupils at the 15 January 2026 census.
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 96% (County Durham 96%, England 73%) · Black African 1% (County Durham 1%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 1% (County Durham 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (County Durham 1%, England 1%) · other groups together 1%
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Staffing
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
96% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 2% moved to another state school · 2% left the state-funded sector
Vacancies (November 2025)
0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, special schools and PRUs: 0.68% vacant, 1.02% temporary
Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)
51% of teachers took sickness absence, 9.5 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days
Teacher pay (November 2025)
Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £51,651; 16.3% on the leadership pay range · England, special schools and PRUs: £53,604, 18.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Spending per pupil (2025-26)
Where the money went (2025-26)
Share of spending, with the median for pupil referral unit schools in brackets: Staff 45% (78%) · premises 2% (4%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 2% (4%) · supplies and services 51% (11%) · educational supplies 17% (3%) · bought-in professional services 34% (5%) · catering 1% (1%)
Reserves (2025-26)
Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance -£45,488
Spending and reserves, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared
Inspection history since 2015
- 29 April 2025: Standards maintained
- 26 February 2020: Section 8 inspections of good and non-exempt outstanding schools
- 15 June 2016: Good
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 2/10among the most deprived fifth of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 19.2% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 25.6% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 17.9% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 22.7% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 40.3% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 55.7% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 24.1% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 20.2% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 4.6% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 0.1% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 4.2% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 27.9% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01020799 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £87,000265 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £69,000–£125,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are among the cheapest tenth of school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.
Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Roads around the school
- Child pedestrian casualties
- 0a rural school averages 0.3
- Collisions at school-run times
- 1a rural school averages 0.7
- All reported collisions
- 6a rural school averages 3.4
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 2a rural school averages 0.9
A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted