Coppice is a special school for students with moderate and severe learning difficulties and, increasingly, more complex needs that include rising numbers of students with an autistic spectrum disorder. All students have a statement of special educational needs. Nearly all are from a White British background. The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium (additional government funding for specific groups that include those known to be eligible for free school meals, or those in the care of the local authority) is well above average. The additional government grant in Year 7 to provide additional support for students who had failed to reach expected standards at the end of Year 6 is not identified specifically in special schools’ budgets by the local authority, since it would apply to all students. Its specific impact cannot therefore be measured. Since April 2009 the school has been federated with Blackfriars School, another local day special school, under a single governing body and an executive headteacher. Each of the schools in the federation has its own head of school. The executive headteacher is a National Leader of Education and supports other schools that have been identified as requiring additional help. The expertise available at Coppice is also shared with some local mainstream schools and this enables those schools to provide more effective support for some of their students with special educational needs. There are strong links with local university departments of education, including the University of Keele, where federation leaders contribute to the teacher training programme.