School Chooser

Castle Wood Special School

Special · ages 3-11MixedCouncil194 pupilsNurseryCoventry
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedRequires improvementLast Ofsted inspection, July 2024
Reached the expected level at 110%England 63%
Attendance88.0%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families34%A bit more than most schools
PlacesFull194 pupils, 160 places
Pupils per teacher9.2School workforce census

Castle Wood Special School is a council special school in Coventry for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 194 pupils, 34 more than it has places for. About 34 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools. Ofsted's last grade was requires improvement, back in 2024.

50 Deedmore Road, Coventry, CV2 1FN024 7670 9060castlewood.coventry.sch.ukMrs Rebekah Hayes head teacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 2 July 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Requires improvement overall.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Requires improvement
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Requires improvement
Early years
Requires improvement
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

25 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 110%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading scoreOfficial name: Reading average scaled score
Maths scoreOfficial name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 0%0%20172018: 0%0%20182019: 0%0%20192023: 0%0%20232024: 0%0%20242025: 0%0%2025
Since 2017: +0%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017CoventryEngland
Pupils tested252525172423
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%5%8%
Expected level: readingReading expected standard0%0%0%0%0%0%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard0%0%0%0%0%0%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)0%0%0%0%0%0%
Reading progressReading progress score-5.1-3.3-2.1-3.3
Maths progressMaths progress score-6.5-2.4-3.5-5.2
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged0%0%0%0%0%0%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged0%0%0%0%0%0%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
0%0%
No gapEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Coventry council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll194Census January 2026
Places160121% full
Pupils from low-income families34%34% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English28%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%194 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)39%£113,150 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls143 / 51
White British pupils34%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Coventry with autism provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (89), language and communications needs (73), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (13), Severe learning difficulty (11), Physical disability (4), Moderate learning difficulty (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll194166160160160156
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals34%36%42%36%39%39%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language28%32%34%38%38%38%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%1%0%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%99%100%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 88.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance88.0%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school41.1%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils5.42024/25, 1 permanent exclusion
Missed without permission2.4%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence12.1%10.7%11.4%10.0%6.4%9.8%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence9.7%8.6%8.6%8.5%5.4%8.3%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.4%2.1%2.8%1.6%1.0%1.5%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence41.1%37.5%40.7%32.6%15.9%29.9%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate5.41.30.00.60.6
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions10000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers21.1full-time equivalent, 24 people
Pupils per teacher9.2Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers88%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants62.9full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£55,266
Teachers who left in the year34%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher19.02024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£26,917England £32,258. Total £4.5m
Income per pupil£27,479England £32,367. Total £4.6m
Spent on teachers per pupil£9,724England £11,930
Money in reserve16%A healthy amount put by: £747k, £4,501 per pupil. England 7%
Money in against money out+£93kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£26,917spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m42112 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate84 per 1,000 people7% lower than the England average
Typical house price£227,000Coventry

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Patrick's Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy150 m234Report card 202622Compare
Moat House Primary SchoolCouncil330 m470No overall grade 202528Compare
Cardinal Wiseman Catholic SchoolAcademy550 m1,406Report card 202639Compare
Henley Green PrimaryCouncil760 m449Good 202412Compare
Potters Green Primary SchoolAcademy870 m414Requires improvement 2024Compare
Grace Academy CoventryAcademy0.7 miles1,051Good 202450Compare
Whittle AcademyAcademy0.8 miles238Good 202421Compare
St Laurences CofE Primary SchoolAcademy0.8 miles403Not inspected30Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Castle Wood Special School a good school?

Castle Wood Special School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it requires improvement at its last inspection in July 2024.

What is Castle Wood Special School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Castle Wood Special School requires improvement at its last full inspection on 2 July 2024.

How good are Castle Wood Special School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Castle Wood Special School have?

194 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 160 places, so it is 121% full.

What is attendance like at Castle Wood Special School?

Pupils were in school 88.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 41% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Castle Wood Special School have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, social, emotional and mental health, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
50 Deedmore Road, Coventry, CV2 1FN
Telephone
024 7670 9060
Website
www.castlewood.coventry.sch.uk
Head Teacher
Mrs Rebekah Hayes
Type of school
Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Coventry
Ward
Henley
Constituency
Coventry East
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 April 2008 (new provision)
URN
135569 · LAESTAB 3317024 · UKPRN 10076625
Formerly
Deedmore School, Hawkesbury Fields School

Where these figures come from