The Woodland – Specialist Inclusion Base

Following the publication of statutory notices on 1st September, we are pleased to share our proposed plans for a new Specialist Inclusion Base, The Woodland, aiming to open in 2027. While the statutory consultation process is officially underway, we fully expect the proposal to be approved, allowing us to expand our specialist support for our pupils.

This project represents an important milestone for us, allowing us to live out our vision of everyone being welcome and serving our community. Over the past three years, our staff have worked hard to develop specialised expertise in supporting children with diverse needs. This new base is a natural extension of that dedication, allowing us to use our experience to serve our families even better.

 

Building on an Inclusive Foundation 

This new provision will build directly upon the inclusive foundation we have already established together. In our latest Ofsted inspection report, which took place in November 2024, inspectors noted that a sense of kindness and care permeates our community, and that our pupils enjoy coming to this inclusive environment.  

We hold clear ambitions for all of our children, particularly those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The inspection highlighted our ability to identify individual needs quickly and wrap tailored adaptations around our pupils across the curriculum. Because of this targeted approach, inspectors found that our pupils with SEND now achieve better than they did previously. Launching this specialist base is the next step to deepen this success and expand our impact. 

As part of this development, Surrey County Council is completely funding an internal reorganisation and refurbishment of our indoor spaces. This refresh means we can optimise our layout to benefit the whole school community and create new spaces for everyone to enjoy. We appreciate the hard work, planning, and care that our leadership team and governors have put into creating this provision, and we look forward to watching all of our pupils grow together within the same community.

 

Why Is It Called The Woodland?

Our mainstream classrooms are named after trees, which directly reflects our school logo of a tree growing from a book and our motto of 'Learning and Growing Together.' The new base naming structure expands on this concept: 

• The Mainstream Classes (The Trees): Every child remains a fully registered member of their mainstream "Tree" class. The trees form the physical structure, roots, and heart of our school community. This approach is designed to prevent children from feeling separated, as a child never leaves their core school identity behind.
   
• The Specialist Base (The Woodland): When children visit the base for a targeted programme, intervention, or quiet learning time, they are simply stepping into a different part of the same forest. They remain a "Tree" class member who is visiting the Woodland, ensuring a continuing sense of belonging.
   
• Base Class Groups (The Animals): Within The Woodland, our focussed learning groups are named after the creatures that live and move between the trees: the Hedgehogs, Squirrels, and Owls. Naming these groups after woodland animals gives the children a clear secondary identity.

 

Admissions and Daily Life in the Base

The base is designed to support pupils who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for Autism (ASD), and who are working within a typical range of academic and developmental expectations for a mainstream school.  

To maintain a focused and highly supportive environment, the provision has a proposed Published Admission Number (PAN) of 4 pupils per year group, eventually reaching a total capacity of 28 children across the school. This is an integrated model, meaning that children allocated a place in the base will spend approximately 50% of their time within their mainstream classrooms, ensuring they remain active, connected members of their year groups while receiving specialist support.  

All pupils placed at the specialist base are admitted through Surrey County Council's dedicated admissions process for SEND specialist provision. To be considered for a place, a child must have an EHCP that explicitly specifies our school as the appropriate placement to meet their individual needs. Admissions are managed directly by the local authority, and further details regarding the full application and placement process can be found on the Surrey Local Offer website.

We expect that the first classes will open in Spring 2027, starting with an initial intake of pupils and growing steadily from there.