Heart of the Forest Community Special School
Special / other · Coleford · GL16 7EJ
Data updated
SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection
We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →
Inspected 25 February 2025
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
160 pupils · 100% of 160 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Community special school
- Age range
- 4–19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Free school meals
- 53.3% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 3.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 0% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 100% of pupils (2024/2025)
- Sixth form
- Yes
- URN
- 134190
In figures
At its inspection on 25 February 2025 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Requires improvement. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 12.1% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)
11 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025
No pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (0%). Key stage 2 tests measure the age-11 curriculum; most pupils at special schools are assessed under other frameworks, so 97% of special schools publish 0% here.
GCSE results (2024/2025)
13 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025
no pupils entered
no pupils entered
no pupils entered
no pupils entered
Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.
Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means National averages are not shown here. The England figures are dominated by mainstream schools, and pupils at a special school are working towards outcomes those measures were not designed to capture, so the comparison would mislead more than it tells you.
Special educational needs
Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.
- Visual Impairment
- Other Difficulty/Disability
- Speech, Language and Communication Needs
- Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Physical Disability
- Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Severe Learning Difficulty
- Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
Provision type: Resourced provision.
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 80% (Gloucestershire 78%, England 66%) · Any other Asian background 5% (Gloucestershire 2%, England 2%) · Any other White background 4% (Gloucestershire 4%, England 4%) · Any other Black background 2% (Gloucestershire 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Gloucestershire 3%, England 2%) · Not recorded 2% (Gloucestershire 3%, England 2%) · Black African 1% (Gloucestershire 1%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Gloucestershire 1%, England 1%) · Asian Indian 1% (Gloucestershire 1%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Gloucestershire 1%, England 4%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Gloucestershire 1%, England 1%)
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)
Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)
1.40 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, special schools: 12.32 suspensions and 0.08 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Gloucestershire: 23.01 suspensions and 0.12 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions
Staffing
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
80% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 20% 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)
71.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 12.2 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 £51,579; 25% 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 special schools in brackets: Staff 84% (81%) · premises 6% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 3% (4%) · supplies and services 7% (9%) · educational supplies 2% (3%) · bought-in professional services 4% (4%) · catering 1% (2%)
Reserves (2025-26)
Revenue reserve £237,169; in-year balance +£80,169
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
Where pupils go after GCSEs
Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.
Inspection history since 2015
- 25 February 2025: Requires improvement
- 23 May 2023: School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next
- 30 January 2018: School remains 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 | 16.3% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 29.9% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 16.9% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 33% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 37.6% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 44.2% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 45.4% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 10.2% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 13.3% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 11.6% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 7.5% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 28.8% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01022238 · how to read area figures
Roads around the school
- Child pedestrian casualties
- 0an urban school averages 2.0
- Collisions at school-run times
- 0an urban school averages 5.7
- All reported collisions
- 9an urban school averages 30.5
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 4an urban school averages 6.1
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