Hillside Special School, Sudbury
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 1 year agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
Hillside excels at building positive relationships with pupils and preparing them exceptionally well for life after school through community-based learning. Staff provide caring, skilled support tailored to individual needs, and pupils respond with outstanding behaviour, motivation and independence. The school has a strong curriculum focused on communication, life skills and work experience that equips older pupils brilliantly for their next stages.
Key Strengths
- Exceptional behaviour and personal development - pupils are highly motivated, behave exceptionally well, and show strong independence
- Outstanding preparation for adulthood with meticulously planned community-based learning opportunities
- Strong communication and language curriculum with consistent strategies to help pupils develop a voice
- Effective staff training and support from leaders, with staff expertise in meeting special educational needs
- Well-designed curriculum that uses pupils' education, health and care plans to create individual learning targets
Areas for Improvement
- Inconsistencies in teaching expertise and subject knowledge across staff, sometimes leading to support not being precisely matched to individual pupil needs
- School improvement priorities lack clarity and measurability, making it difficult to evaluate the impact of improvement work
- Need to ensure all staff have the expertise to match support more precisely to pupils' individual needs
Safeguarding
The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
Extracurricular Activities
Yoga classes, sports leaders programme, Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme, Kestrel Café (work experience), community visits to local parks and shops, police station visits
Hillside Special School is a community special school for pupils aged 4 to 19 with profound and multiple learning disabilities and severe learning disabilities. Pupils love attending the school, arriving with smiles and benefiting from caring staff who build incredibly positive relationships with them.
At a Glance
48.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
Yes
Sixth Form
SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
23 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has remained stable at around 0%. Maths has remained stable at around 0%. Writing has remained stable at around 0%.
Class Sizes
0.0
Avg class size
0
Total classes
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Bus Stops
Commute Calculator
Find out if this school is reachable from your home - before you apply
What are my chances?
Enter your postcode to estimate your probability of getting a place.
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
103%
Over capacity
89 pupils
86 capacity
3 places over capacity
Area Demand Pressure - Sudbury
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Sudbury
Admissions Demand - Suffolk
Places available
8,496
Applications
7,401
Got 1st preference
92.0%
Got preferred school
97.4%
Secondary admissions across Suffolk (2025/26)
Inspection History(9)
House Prices
Moving into the catchment? See what homes near this school actually cost
SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
Pupil Demographics
The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.
Teachers & Staff
Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.
Pupil Absence2024/25
10.94159%
Overall absence
26.25%
Persistent absence
80
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Reviews
No reviews yet - be the first to leave one.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Hillside Special School
Nearby Schools
Do you work at this school?
Claim your profile free to get a verified badge, update your contact details, and see how many parents are viewing your page.