What happened
Woodlands School in Plymouth is a specialist school for children aged 2 to 19 with physical and sensory impairments and complex medical needs. It runs four curriculums side by side across six key stages, so the evidence Headteacher Andrea Hemmens needs to show is broad.
The evidence existed, but pulling it together properly took more time than a small special school had to give, and it fell entirely on Andrea. Now she feeds in the reports she already writes, including her termly report to governors, and runs a fresh export each term. Her SLT decide together which documents go in, then review what comes back.
The conversation, not the typing
Reviewing together is where Andrea sees the value. The team agrees what to keep, what to tweak and what to leave out, and challenges anything they can’t point to evidence for. In a school doing this much for every child, it also brings back impact they had stopped noticing. As a small special school, Andrea has no spare capacity to hand the work to a bigger team, so the discussion is where the time goes.
Gaps she could see and close
The first pass showed Andrea exactly where her evidence was thin, including post-16. She went back to her post-16 lead knowing what she needed to make it stronger.
A true picture of the school
Andrea says the evidence base is something she can stand behind and share with her team, her governors and inspectors. It’s built from the school’s own documentation and knowledge, so it reflects the school as it is, including four curriculums and six key stages, not a polished version of it.
Read the full case study
The full case study goes deeper: how a live evidence base keeps up with a fast-moving special school, what it's like to know it's all there without carrying it in your head, and what Andrea would say to another special school headteacher.
