School to move despite £1.6m spend on improvements

A school for pupils with special educational needs that a council has spent £1.6m improving is still operating on a "dilapidated" site and will eventually need to move.

Woodeaton Manor School, near Oxford, was rated inadequate and found to be "chaotic" by Ofsted inspectors who visited in October 2023 and its governing body later resigned.

A new head teacher and governors were appointed but - while inspectors found it had improved on a visit in March - it remains in special measures.

Oxfordshire County Council said it had suffered "significant financial implications" after the school's former governing body did not "appropriately invest" in its Grade II* listed building and wider site.

It also said the school previously lacked "robust financial management and other leadership", which had left its budget "significant overspent" to the tune of about £1.5m in March.

In a report to councillors that will be discussed at a meeting next Friday, the council's director of children's services Lisa Lyons said the school's site was "not fit for purpose".

She added: "Despite significant investment from the county council, this site and building cannot be improved to deliver quality education and the long-term plan is to relocate the school into more appropriate premises."

The school has about 80 pupils, all of whom have Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

It previously offered residential placements but they were paused following Ofsted's inspection in 2023 and they have since been closed.

Last year, the council agreed to spend £900,000 on replacing fire doors as well as making other "fire safety improvements to meet the legislative standards".

It said that money was also going to be spent on "suitable perimeter fencing" and new entrance gates.

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