Barley Lane School
Barley Lane, St Thomas, Exeter, EX4 1TAOpen in maps (opens in a new tab)
Barley Lane School is a special school in Exeter for ages 7 to 16. It is one of the 416 schools in Devon. Its latest Ofsted rating is Requires improvement, from an inspection in July 2024.
Ofsted inspection
Inspected 9 July 2024, report published 9 September 2024
- Overall effectiveness
- Requires improvement
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Met
What Ofsted said
From the inspection on 9 July 2024
Barley Lane is a calm and nurturing environment where pupils feel safe. Pupils are positive about the care they receive and how staff accept them as individuals. They appreciate how staff listen to them and give them the help they need to manage their emotions successfully. Pupils are adamant that staff treat them with respect and understand them. This means that when pupils have incidents of challenging behaviour, they feel they always have a fresh start. The school wants pupils to be successful learners. However, the quality of education is not good. In some subjects, the school is not clear about the key knowledge and skills it wants pupils to know and remember. This means, they do not build a deep understanding of these subjects. Also, in some subjects, staff do not have secure subject knowledge to enable pupils to learn successfully. The school has high expectations for pupils' behaviour. They show positive attitudes to their learning and during social times. The school works tirelessly to ensure pupils attend school regularly. There is a wealth of additional experiences for pupils, including kayaking, climbing and music. This enables pupils to develop their confidence well.
What the school should improve
- In some subjects, the school is not clear about the key knowledge and skills it wants pupils to know. As a result, pupils do not build a deep understanding of these subjects. The school must complete the work it has started to ensure that all subjects identify the key knowledge and skills pupils need to learn and revisit as they progress through the curriculum.
- Monitoring and evaluation are underdeveloped. This means the school does not have an accurate understanding of the effectiveness of some aspects of its work. This is hampering the progress the school is making. The school must ensure that all aspects of the school's work is robustly monitored and evaluated in order to put in place support and adaptations for pupils as necessary.
- In some subjects, staff do not have sufficient subject knowledge to implement aspects of the curriculum effectively. This means pupils do not learn as successfully as they should. The school must ensure staff develop the knowledge they need to deliver the curriculum well.
Exam results
SATs results (key stage 2), 2024/25
7 pupils took the tests
GCSE results (key stage 4), 2024/25
13 pupils in the year group
Pupil numbers and mix
80 pupils on roll, with places for 79
Schools near Barley Lane School
| School | Distance | Ofsted | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belong School Devon | 0.8 miles | Report card: Expected standard to strong standard | Attainment 8: 12.8 |
| Magdalen Court School | 2 miles | Ofsted: Requires improvement | Attainment 8: 2.5 |
| The Outdoors School | 2 miles | Ofsted: Good | Not published |
| Southbrook School | 3 miles | Ofsted judgements: Requires improvement to good | Attainment 8: 0.2 |
| Vranch House School | 3 miles | Ofsted: Outstanding | Not published |
School details
- School type
- Foundation special school
- Sector
- Local authority maintained
- Trust
- SENtient Trust
- Age range
- 7 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr David Jones
- Phone
- 01392430774
- Address
- Barley Lane, St Thomas, Exeter, EX4 1TA
- Local authority
- Devon
- URN
- 113636
School details from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026. Ofsted outcomes published to 31 August 2026. Exam results for 2024/25 from the Department for Education. Pupil mix from the school census, 2025/26.