West Oaks School is a Special School for pupils aged 2 to 19 and was established in 1977 in Boston Spa, near Wetherby. Our current provision is based across two sites: Woodhouse Learning (LS6 2ST) and Boston Spa Learning (LS23 6DX). In 2022, we are developing a third site, the Headingley Learning (LS6 1BP) campus on Buckingham Road. West Oaks provision for Early Years is based at Woodhouse Learning and 16+ provision is currently based in specialist facilities at both Woodhouse and Boston Spa Learning. The third site in Headingley is for pupils aged 5-16. It is being developed because of the popularity of the school, as our SEN places are heavily oversubscribed. West Oaks has been judged by Ofsted to be outstanding in all areas in 2007, 2012 and 2017.
Headingley Learning, on the old Rose Court site, presents a real opportunity to provide further high-quality SEN provision in Leeds, whilst retaining as many of the Grade II listed features of the building as possible. The campus has real character and eventually will educate approximately 120 West Oaks pupils. New therapeutic and training facilities will be created to complement the class spaces, outside play areas, grassed sports pitch, interactive zone, activity zone, exhibition space, enterprise zone, which will help with our plans to integrate into the Headingley community.
We are proud to be Leeds-based and are very excited by the opportunity to develop a base in the Headingley area. We are looking forward to transforming the Buckingham Road site over the next two years and due to this further expansion, we will create one of the largest Special Schools in Europe with 500 pupils and 250 staff across the three West Oaks sites. However, it is very much one school on three sites at West Oaks and we typically educate pupils in class sizes that vary between 8 and 12 pupils.
Our school logo is the hummingbird and flower. The hummingbird represents our young people … Strong yet delicate, the most agile of birds, the hummingbird is the only bird that can fly right, left, up, down, and backwards and even upside down. It is the most elegant of winged species. The flower symbolises our community … A source of care, energy, spirit and learning for life. All 32 classes are named after Birds ranging from Greenfinch to Kestrels!
At West Oaks School, we educate pupils with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD), Severe Learning Difficulties (SLD) and those with a diagnosis of Autism (ASC). All our pupils have an Education, Health and Care Plan. Our ethos is based around an “Excellence for Everyone” approach, whether pupil, parent, carer, staff, or community member. We have created a unique five pathway curriculum model, considering pupils’ starting points whilst ensuring high aspirations for all.
The design of each pathway has been supported by a firm belief that the spiral curriculum model is fundamental to pupils learning and is particularly relevant to our pupils who have significant additional challenges. Each pathway represents careful consideration as to what is important for our pupils to learn and experience, at each Key Stage and developmental level. The pathways are structured so that complex ideas can be taught at a simplified level first and then re-visited at more complex levels later. Our curriculum pathways aspire to create …
● pupils who are motivated and inspired towards a lifelong interest in learning
● a wide range of enhancement opportunities for personal development to encourage and inspire pupils to achieve their personal best
● a broad and balanced curriculum based on the National Curriculum, considering the uniqueness of our pupils
● the most effective use of every learning opportunity created or encountered, all day, every day
● an aspiration and preparation for Further Education, whether academic or vocational and for the world of work
● pupils who become fully prepared for life in modern Britain
● opportunities to work with the community to promote local, national, and global awareness.
To find out more about West Oaks School, visit our website or our Twitter page @westoaksleeds. You can also follow this YouTube link https://youtu.be/xbZFLPe3WUk to a short film highlighting our school offer “Excellence for Everyone”.
Andrew Hodkinson
Principal, West Oaks School
www.westoaksschool.co.uk
A new article, posted here on 6 December 2022, announces the arrival of West Oaks Headingley Learning!
