Kirklees Together

A special school which serves vulnerable children and young people has been honoured at a meeting of Kirklees Council.

What’s the story?

Woodley School and College was recently recognised by the National Autistic Society (NAS) for the high standard of its support for autistic pupils.

Woodley – which is at Dog Kennel Bank, Huddersfield – has gone from strength to strength. It caters exclusively for autistic children and young people aged from 5 to 19 from across Kirklees and is maintained by the local authority.

Mel Meggs, the council’s Director of Children’s Services, said:

“Woodley has joined just a handful of schools in West Yorkshire to gain accreditation from the NAS. We are delighted because the award is for organisations which are setting the standard nationally for autism practice.

Woodley used to cater for pupils with either autism or complex needs but, with the school’s full backing, the council redesignated it to autism only in 2015. This was vital in developing specialist support and improving outcomes and we are continuing to invest in facilities for autism.

We work very closely with the Kirklees family of schools to achieve the highest possible standards for all children. We all share the same goal of supporting children and young people to enjoy the best start in life.”

Woodley’s headteacher, Anne Lawton, was invited to a meeting of Full Council where the school was praised by the Mayor of Kirklees, Cllr Mumtaz Hussain.

Anne said:

“We are immensely proud that the work of our whole school community has been praised at national level. I would like to thank the local authority for their excellent support in helping our school to flourish so that young people fulfil their potential.”