SF School Facts UK

Special school in Luton

Woodlands Secondary School

Northwell Drive, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU3 3SP

Ofsted Outstanding · 2024 Sixth form
School website 01582572880
Ofsted Outstanding May 2024
Pupils 262 99% full
Local deprivation 4/10 mid-range

Ofsted

Outstandingas at 8 May 2024

Graded Outstanding at its last graded inspection, on 8 May 2024.

Ofsted stopped awarding single-word overall grades in September 2024. This grade is 2 years old and will not be updated — the school keeps it until its next inspection, which will not produce a replacement grade.

Read the Ofsted report

Current published outcome
Outstanding
Last overall grade in this dataset
Outstanding
Days since inspection
877 days
Framework era
Historic overall-grade framework (ended September 2024)

These four fields describe the latest published inspection on this record. The dataset does not keep a previous inspection row, so a school inspected under the current framework will usually have no overall grade to show as “prior”.

Exam results

Special schools serve pupils whose needs the standard measures were not designed to describe, so results are not shown or ranked here.

Evidence found
No phase-compatible comparable headline measure is published here.
Source coverage
DfE 2024/25 school performance files, checked by exact URN and establishment type.
What this means
The standard mainstream measure would not support a fair comparison for this establishment.
What this does not mean
The school achieved zero, has no outcomes, or should be read as performing below a mainstream school.

Pupils

Pupils on roll
262
Places
265
How full
Nearly full — 262 of 265 places taken
Girls / boys
78 / 184
Overall absence
12%

England 5.8%

Persistently absent
33%

England 14.7% — pupils missing 10% or more of sessions

Free school meals, last 6 years
46%

England 25.7%

English as an additional language
53%

England 18.7%

With an EHC plan
100%

England 3.5%

On SEN support
0%

England 15%

School funding 2025-26 financial year

Not covered by this mainstream-school release.

Evidence found
Not covered by this mainstream-school release; this is not represented as £0.
Source coverage
DfE mainstream-school allocations for running costs for pupils aged 5-16, importer snapshot 23 August 2026.
What this means
The official mainstream allocation release does not provide a publishable row for this establishment.
What this does not mean
The school received no public funding or has no budget; other establishment types and funding streams use different publications.

Allocation is not expenditure. DfE says this release combines the schools block with several other revenue grants and excludes capital spending. Funding is shown for context and is never used in School Facts ordering, peer groups or quality claims. Source, licence and coverage.

Roads and getting there

Road casualties within 500m

Child pedestrian casualties
1

England average 1.6 — pedestrians under 16, over five years

All reported collisions
6

England average 24.2 over five years

Of those, serious or fatal
0

Public transport

Bus stops within 500m
10

England average 11.9

Nearest station
Leagrave Rail Station

1.4 km away — railway station

Every collision reported to the police within 500m of the school over the five years to 2024, from the Department for Transport's road casualty statistics. A high count usually says the school sits on or near a busy road, not that the school is unsafe — counts rise with traffic and with how built up an area is, and a rural school on a fast road may have fewer collisions but a worse one. Distances are straight-line from the school's recorded position.

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

In education, work or training
100%

England 91.4%

Stayed in education
100%

England 85.4%

Started an apprenticeship
0%

England 3.5%

Stayed at this school's sixth form
0%
No sustained destination
0%

England 5.8%

Pupils in the cohort
42

A destination counts only if it lasted at least six months, which is why these figures lag the exam results by a year. Small cohorts move these percentages a long way — check the cohort size before reading much into a gap.

The area around the school

4/10 Deprivation decile

Among the more deprived half of England.

4/10 Child poverty decile

Among the more deprived half of England for children in low-income families.

Indices of Deprivation 2019, for the small area the school stands in. 1 means the most deprived tenth of England, 10 the least. The second measure counts only children living in low-income families, which is the one that describes the intake a school is likely to draw on.

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£318,750

postcode sector LU3 3 · 390 sales

Typical range
£266,750 to £365,000

middle half of sales

Detached
£425,000
Semi-detached
£335,000
Terraced
£275,000
Flat
£175,000

Homes around this school are close to the England average.

Every residential sale registered in this postcode sector since January 2024, from HM Land Registry. A sector covers roughly 2,500 addresses. England's median over the same period was £293,000.

Who lives there

Adults with a degree
26%

England 33.8%

Adults with no qualifications
24%

England 18.3%

In professional or managerial work
4%

England 13.4%

Households deprived in 2+ ways
28%

England 17.8%

Residents in very good health
48%

England 48.4%

Housing

Owned by the occupier
59%

England 62.7%

Social housing
20%

England 17%

Privately rented
20%

England 19.2%

Detached homes
25%

England 38.2%

Four or more bedrooms
9%

England 22.5%

No car
19%

England 21.9%

Census 2021, for Luton 003A and the wider neighbourhood around it. These figures describe the area, not the pupils — children may travel in from much further away, and for selective, faith and independent schools they usually do.

School details

Type
Community special school
Phase
Special
Ages
Ages 11–18
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Sixth form
Yes
Nursery
No
Boarding
Day school
Headteacher
Headteacher: Sandra Clarke
Register status
Open
Local authority
Luton
Ward
Northwell
Constituency
Luton North
URN
109744

The unique reference number used in all official school data.

Official DfE record
Open the register entry

The source record for this establishment and URN.

The URN identifies this registered establishment. If a school converts or is replaced, DfE may issue a new URN; this page does not stitch different establishments together by a similar name.

Nearest special schools

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8Progress 8DistanceCompare
Active Support Education CentreOther independent special school No overall grade — — 1.9 mi
The Chiltern SchoolCommunity special school Good 2023 — — 2.2 mi
Richmond Hill SchoolCommunity special school No overall grade — — 2.4 mi
Lady Zia Wernher SchoolCommunity special school Outstanding 2023 — — 2.7 mi
Stannard SchoolOther independent special school No overall grade — — 2.9 mi
Claystone SchoolOther independent special school No overall grade — — 4.7 mi
Esland Bedford SchoolOther independent special school No overall grade — — 6.6 mi
St Luke's SchoolFoundation special school Good 2023 — — 8 mi

Evidence ledger

Reference dates and join methods are kept separate because the figures do not all describe the same year or geography.

EvidencePublisherReference dateHow it reaches this page
School identityGet Information About Schools23 August 2026Exact URN 109744; unified importer snapshot
Inspection evidenceOfsted management information31 July 2026Exact URN; inspection 8 May 2024
Pupil intakeDfE school census2024/25Exact URN; suppressed values remain missing
Funding allocationDfE school funding statistics2025-26 financial yearNo row for this URN in the mainstream-school release; not represented as zero
Roads and transportDfT road casualties, traffic and NaPTANFive-year road window; access-node snapshotCoordinate join within the stated radius
NeighbourhoodONS Census2021LSOA/MSOA containing the school, not pupil homes
DeprivationEnglish Indices of Deprivation2019LSOA containing the school
Home pricesHM Land Registry Price Paid DataSales since January 2024School postcode sector, not a catchment

These sources are published for reuse under the Open Government Licence v3.0, including the Crown database-right notice that accompanies Price Paid Data. Definitions and source notes. If something here looks wrong, the school's own website is the authority on admissions and open days.

Questions this school record can answer

Which exact school is this?

Match the DfE URN, school name and address; names and structures can change while the URN remains the stable identifier.

What does the latest inspection evidence say?

Use the inspection date and framework shown. Do not compare a legacy overall grade directly with the newer report-card judgements.

How should I compare nearby schools?

Compare the same phase, cohort and academic year, then keep intake context and confidence intervals beside performance measures.

What must a parent verify?

Check current admissions rules, travel practicality, support for the child’s needs and the school’s latest official information before deciding.