Five Acre Wood is considerably larger than the average special school. The number of pupils has grown by more than a quarter since the previous inspection. It is a district provision for pupils with moderate, severe, profound and complex learning difficulties, and autism. The school calls each of these a phase, and this determines how pupils are grouped. Classes are determined by pupils’ age and the teaching style that they require, based on the nature and severity of their learning difficulty. All pupils have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan. The school is situated across three sites. Pupils on the main site cover the full age range. In addition, four classes of the most able pupils and students are located in two nearby mainstream schools. One Key Stage 4 class and two post-16 classes have their own accommodation at Aylesford School Sports College. One Key Stage 2 class is based in Eastborough Primary School. The secondary link is long established, while the primary one only began in January 2015. Almost half of all pupils are in Key Stages 1 and 2. There are only a small number of children in Reception and all of them attend full time. Pupils represent a range of ethnic backgrounds, although White British pupils form more than half of the school roll. Two thirds of all pupils are boys. The school receives pupil premium funding for a third of its pupils, which is higher than the national average. Pupil premium is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and for children who are looked after. Only a very small number of pupils are looked after by the local authority. The school also receives specific additional funding to support the learning of Year 7 pupils, and physical education and sport funding for primary-aged pupils. The school’s senior leadership team was restructured with effect from January 2015 as new posts and responsibilities were established. Two heads of school were appointed, for primary and secondary respectively, and each of these is supported by an assistant headteacher who was newly appointed to that role at the same time. A third assistant headteacher is responsible for pupils’ well-being. The restructuring process also saw significant changes to middle management. Key stage leaders were replaced by five middle managers, who are referred to as lead teachers. Four of these have responsibility for a particular ‘phase’, such as autism, across the school. The fifth middle manager is the lead teacher for post-16 provision. A few pupils on the Aylesford School Sports College site attend some GCSE classes in the main school. Apart from this, no pupils attend any other establishments regularly for any part of their education. The school receives termly visits from the local authority’s school improvement partner.