Red Balloon Educational Trust-Norfolk, Norwich

Special
Other independent special school
Mixed
Ages 1118

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mrs Victoria Norris
Pupils:20 / 20 capacity
LA:Norfolk
Phone:01603327856
Address:76 Earlham Road, Norwich, NR2 3DF
Admissions:Selective
Status:open
Opened:11 January 2024

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 10 months ago
-

Overall

Inspected 18 November 2025View full report
URN:150112
UKPRN:10100763
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Norwich South
Urban/Rural:Urban: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

Pupils report feeling safe and cared for by staff members. The school maintains appropriate staffing levels during the school day. However, these positives are significantly undermined by serious failings in safeguarding oversight, educational quality, and leadership management that require urgent attention.

Key Strengths

  • Pupils feel safe on school premises and have trusted adults they can turn to
  • Staff are deployed appropriately during the school day with adequate coverage
  • School has a safeguarding policy that reflects current statutory guidance

Areas for Improvement

  • Safeguarding arrangements are not effective - serious concerns have not been reported to authorities and harmful behaviour has not been properly identified or acted upon
  • Quality of education for pupils with SEND has declined significantly with weak assessment practices and poor curriculum delivery
  • Staff recruitment and suitability checks have not followed statutory procedures, including missing medical fitness checks and section 128 checks
  • Leadership is weak with high staff turnover, vacant key positions, and poor governance oversight
  • Pupils' risk assessments are unclear and not consistently followed by staff

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is not effective - the proprietor has not ensured adequate arrangements with insufficient oversight, failures to report serious concerns to authorities, and multiple issues with how child-on-child abuse and harmful behaviour cases have been handled.

Red Balloon Educational Trust-Norfolk is a special school for pupils aged 11-18 with social, emotional and mental health needs. This emergency inspection found the school does not meet independent school standards in multiple critical areas.

Fees (2025)

Day fee

£11,667/term

£35,000/yr

At a Glance

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

10 responses
Would recommend70%
Child is happy70%
Well taught60%
Good progress60%
Feels safe60%
Well behaved60%
Bullying dealt with10%
Kept informed50%
Handles concerns50%
Wider development50%

Source: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree

Class Sizes

0.0

Avg class size

0

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Latest from Red Balloon Educational Trust-Norfolk

From Red Balloon Educational Trust-Norfolk's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.

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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

100%

Over capacity

20 pupils

20 capacity

0 places over capacity

Area Demand Pressure - Norwich

High pressure
New homes approved:8,028
Projected new pupils:1,445

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Norwich

Admissions Demand - Norfolk

Low demand0.90x oversubscription

Places available

9,550

Applications

8,636

Got 1st preference

93.3%

Got preferred school

98.2%

Secondary admissions across Norfolk (2025/26)

Inspection History(3)

18 November 2025
14 January 2025
10 November 2023

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SEN Provision

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Pupil Demographics

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