Ofsted: Requires improvement

Holly House Special School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMr Marc Hughes

location_onChesterfield, S41 9QR

language Visit Website phone 1246450530

verified

Ofsted

Requires improvement

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

school

Expected Standard

17%

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Age Range

7-14

summarize

Holly House Special School is a Community special school school in Chesterfield, serving ages 7-14. Currently Requires Improvement according to Ofsted — the school is working to raise standards.

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School Summary

Holly House Special School is a community special school in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, admitting pupils aged 7-14. The school has approximately 43 pupils on roll, of whom 77% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 17% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined. The school ranks #257 of 263 primaries in Derbyshire and #14,747 of 15,231 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2025. The school's current overall rating is Requires improvement. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Requires improvement, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Requires improvement.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 2.8:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 11.6 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

17%

LA 58%

Reading33% LA 73%

Writing33% LA 69%

Maths17% LA 71%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

LA 57%England 61%

Reading0% LA 73% · Eng 74%

Writing0% LA 68% · Eng 72%

Maths0% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

LA 58%England 60%

Reading0% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing0% LA 69% · Eng 71%

Maths0% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

-19.4

Read

LA -0.2

-24.4 to -14.3

-19.3

Write

LA -0.2

-24.1 to -14.5

-18.7

Maths

LA -0.4

-23.4 to -14.0

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

LA 63%England 65%

Reading0% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing40% LA 77% · Eng 78%

Maths0% LA 77% · Eng 79%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

LA -0.5

Write

LA -0.2

Maths

LA -0.9

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

LA 63%

Reading-% LA 76%

Writing-% LA 78%

Maths-% LA 73%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

LA -0.7

Write

LA -0.5

Maths

LA -1.2

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

18 March 2025

Inspection Report

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14 March 2024

Inspection Report

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10 January 2023

Inspection Report

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02 April 2019

Inspection Report

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26 September 2018

Inspection Report

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22 April 2015

Inspection Report

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26 February 2014

Inspection Report

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30 March 2011

Inspection Report

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03 December 2007

Inspection Report

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25 November 2003

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

5 Evaluations

2025-03-18

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 2 EIF

Not Judged

info

Why no overall grade?

From autumn 2024, Ofsted stopped issuing a single headline grade (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate). Instead, each inspection area is graded individually. This follows a major review after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. The overall effectiveness field is left as "Not judged" in the published data.

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Requires improvement

2023-01-10

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 EIF

Requires improvement

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Requires improvement

Development

Requires improvement

Leadership

Requires improvement

2019-04-02

S5 Inspection Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

2018-09-26

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

2014-02-26

None Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

14.0%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 7.3% for this term (secondary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

11.6%(5 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 7.398% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 43 pupils. During this period, there were 6 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 14.0%, which is above the termly national average of 7.3%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	43	6	14.0%	7.3%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	43	4	9.3%	7.8%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	45	5	11.1%	7.4%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	45	2	4.4%	7.1%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	44	5	11.4%	8.2%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	42	4	9.5%	6.6%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	45	3	6.7%	6.4%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	44	11	25.0%	5.9%	1
2021/22 (Summer term)	45	7	15.6%	4.7%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	45	9	20.0%	4.9%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	44	13	29.5%	4.4%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	43	6	14.0%	3.6%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	43	3	7.0%	1.0%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	42	29	69.0%	3.9%	1
2019/20 (Summer term)	44	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	44	11	25.0%	3.2%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	43	13	30.2%	4.2%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	41	11	26.8%	3.1%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	43	25	58.1%	3.8%	1
2018/19 (Autumn term)	43	29	67.4%	3.8%	1
2017/18 (Summer term)	44	39	88.6%	3.4%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	44	25	56.8%	3.0%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	43	66	153.5%	3.7%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	43	55	127.9%	3.0%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	42	51	121.4%	3.3%	0
2016/17 (Autumn term)	40	39	97.5%	3.1%	0

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 23 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 11 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 8 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 1 pupils

Holly House Special School

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Distance to School

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Funding & Staffing

Staffing

Teacher Turnover