The Linden Centre

  • Alternative provision
  • Local authority maintained
  • Ages 5 to 16
Ofsted: Good

Oak Road, Telford, TF3 5BTOpen in maps (opens in a new tab)

The Linden Centre is an alternative provision school in Telford for ages 5 to 16. It is one of the 84 schools in Telford and Wrekin. Its latest Ofsted rating is Good, from an inspection in June 2023.

Ofsted inspection

Inspected 21 June 2023, report published 13 September 2023

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Outstanding
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding
Met

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 June 2023

The Linden Centre is a welcoming and inclusive school, where pupils are valued as unique individuals. The school's values of 'learning, inspire, nurture, develop, empower and nourish' are well established. Pupils enjoy coming to school and feel safe. Staff take bullying seriously and deal with any issues quickly. Pupils who come to this school have often missed a lot of education. Staff focus on understanding pupils' individual needs. They use this knowledge well to develop positive, caring relationships. This helps pupils to re-engage with their education. Leaders and staff have high expectations of pupils' behaviour. Staff help pupils to behave well. They maintain clear routines and consistently implement the school's behaviour and reward systems. All of this leads to a calm and purposeful learning atmosphere across the school's four sites. For those pupils who attend the short-stay provision, the home school providers find the work carried out at The Linden Centre to be highly effective. It enables pupils to successfully reintegrate back into their mainstream settings. Parents are positive about the school and say that the staff are supportive. Parents see notable improvements in their children's learning and behaviour when attending this school.

What the school should improve

  • In a few subjects, leaders have not ensured that the curriculum identifies in enough detail the knowledge that pupils should learn from key stage 1 through to key stage 4. This hampers some pupils' progress. Leaders should ensure that all subject curriculums identify the important knowledge and skills that pupils should learn as they move through the school.
  • Some pupils find their reading books too hard to read fluently. This is because teachers have not provided these pupils with reading books that carefully match their phonics knowledge. Leaders should ensure that pupils read books that are aligned closely to their phonics knowledge, so they can become more fluent and accurate readers.

Pupil numbers and mix

35 pupils on roll, with places for 36

Eligible for free school meals68.6%

68.6%, 42.1 percentage points above the England average of 26.5%.

English as an additional language0%

0%, 21.6 percentage points below the England average of 21.6%.

Special educational needs support0%

0%, 14.8 percentage points below the England average of 14.8%.

Education, health and care plan100%

100%, 94 percentage points above the England average of 6%.

Schools near The Linden Centre

SchoolDistanceOfsted
Kickstart Academy2 milesOfsted: Requires improvement
Tuition, Medical and Behaviour Support Service11 milesOfsted: Good
Evergreen Academy15 milesOfsted: Good
Bailey Street Alternative Provision Academy17 milesReport card: Expected standard to strong standard
The Kairos Academy (KS4)17 milesOfsted: Inadequate

School details

School type
Pupil referral unit
Sector
Local authority maintained
Age range
5 to 16
Gender
Mixed
Headteacher
Mr Darren Lennon
Address
Oak Road, Telford, TF3 5BT
Local authority
Telford and Wrekin
URN
123349

School details from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026. Ofsted outcomes published to 31 August 2026. Pupil mix from the school census, 2025/26.