The Forest School
The Forest School is a special academy in Knaresborough for boys and girls aged 2 to 16. It has 155 pupils, 28 more than it has places for. About 41 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.
Park Lane, Knaresborough, HG5 0DQ01423 864583forest.n-yorks.sch.ukMrs Shona Crichton headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 23 April 2025, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 18 December 2019 | Ungraded | School remains Outstanding (Concerns) - S5 Next |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
24 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019† | 2018† | North Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 24 | 15 | 16 | 24 | 10 | 8 | – | – |
† These results are for The Forest School, the school this one replaced in April 2020. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025
3 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.
All Year 6 measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2019† | 2018† | 2017† | North Yorkshire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils tested | 3 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 15 | – | – |
| Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 61% | 63% |
| Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 7% | 8% |
| Expected level: readingReading expected standard | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed) | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | – | – |
| Reading progressReading progress score | – | – | -20.4 | -4.4 | -2.5 | -9.0 | – | – |
| Maths progressMaths progress score | – | – | -20.4 | -2.4 | -4.8 | -12.8 | – | – |
| Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged | – | – | – | – | – | 0% | – | – |
| Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged | – | – | – | – | – | 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.
† These results are for The Forest School, the school this one replaced in April 2020. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
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 North Yorkshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, 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 North Yorkshire with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (77), language and communications needs (28), Moderate learning difficulty (19), Specific learning difficulty (9), emotional and mental health (5), Severe learning difficulty (3).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 155 | 148 | 147 | 136 | 140 | 133 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 41% | 43% | 39% | 41% | 39% | 38% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 7% | 7% | 6% | 4% | 3% | 3% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 89.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19† | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 10.3% | 9.8% | 7.3% | 10.9% | 18.9% | 6.4% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 7.5% | 8.1% | 6.4% | 10.1% | 18.7% | 5.7% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.7% | 1.7% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.2% | 0.7% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 29.1% | 24.8% | 23.9% | 35.5% | 75.2% | 16.2% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 3.4 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 0.8 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
† These attendance figures are for The Forest School, the school this one replaced in April 2020. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 16 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 94% | 96% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 94% | 96% | 100% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 6% | 4% | 0% | 0% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
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
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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meadowside Academy | Academy | 500 m | 206 | Good 2024 | 50 | Compare |
| Knaresborough St John's Church of England Primary School | Academy | 680 m | 289 | Good 2024 | 64 | Compare |
| King James's School | Council | 910 m | 1,554 | Good 2023 | 44 | Compare |
| Aspin Park Academy | Academy | 910 m | 416 | Good 2023 | 66 | Compare |
| St Mary's Primary School Knaresborough, A Voluntary Catholic Academy | Academy | 0.7 miles | 193 | Good 2019 | 49 | Compare |
| Goldsborough Church of England Primary School | Church of England | 1.5 miles | 71 | Good 2022 | 27 | Compare |
| Springwater Academy | Academy | 1.9 miles | 145 | Good 2022 | – | Compare |
| Starbeck Primary Academy | Academy | 1.9 miles | 234 | Good 2024 | 13 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is The Forest School a good school?
The Forest School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it not judged at its last inspection in April 2025.
What is The Forest School's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated The Forest School not judged at its last full inspection on 23 April 2025.
How many pupils does The Forest School have?
155 pupils aged 2 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 127 places, so it is 122% full.
What is attendance like at The Forest School?
Pupils were in school 89.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 29% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does The Forest School have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, 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
- Park Lane, Knaresborough, HG5 0DQ
- Telephone
- 01423 864583
- Website
- www.forest.n-yorks.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mrs Shona Crichton
- Type of school
- Special academy (Academy special converter, academies)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 2-16, with nursery
- Gender
- Mixed
- Multi-academy trust
- Wellspring Academy Trust (33 schools)
- Local authority
- North Yorkshire
- Ward
- Knaresborough East
- Constituency
- Harrogate and Knaresborough
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 April 2020 (academy converter)
- URN
- 147819 · LAESTAB 8157022 · UKPRN 10085845
- Formerly
- The Forest School
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Year 6 results: DfE key stage 2 tables, 2024/25.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.