The Collett School, Hemel Hempstead
The Collett School is a special school for pupils aged 4 to 16 in Hemel Hempstead. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in October 2018. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in April 2024 did not change this grade.
- Ofsted
- Good (2018)
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
The Collett School in detail
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to The Collett School are Redbourn Park School (1.5 miles, Good); Haywood Grove School (1.8 miles, Good); Felden Hall School (1.9 miles); and Woodfield School (2.1 miles, Outstanding).
Redbourn Park SchoolHaywood Grove SchoolFelden Hall SchoolWoodfield School
Where pupils go next
Of the 18 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 83% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 78% to a further education college.
Who goes there
41.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, and 11.7% speak English as an additional language, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (74%), Mixed (8%) and Asian (6%).
Almost every pupil at The Collett School has an education, health and care plan (128 of 128 in 2026). The most common need among them is autism.
The Collett School provides for pupils with speech, language and communication needs, autism and moderate learning difficulties.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Hemel Hempstead Rail Station, about 1.1 miles away in a straight line.
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Gadebridge Road (opposite), 20 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood The Collett School stands in is among the 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 399 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and public order offences. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Hertfordshire (138), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, The Collett School issued 33 suspensions, 25.8 for every 100 pupils, and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 3 years agoThis judgement is from October 2018, 8 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Most pupils have previously experienced difficulties in their schooling. Many join the school with significant gaps in their knowledge, particularly in literacy and numeracy. Pupils access a curriculum that is planned to help them catch up.
Pupils benefit from the opportunities to learn how to be independent adults. They achieve success in their work experience. This includes serving in the Horsebox Café, working in the local business and supporting younger pupils as classroom helpers. Pupils gain accreditations linked to potential career paths. They are well prepared for their next steps in education, employment or training.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has in place an ambitious curriculum that takes account of pupils' varied and complex needs. Overall, the school's curriculum is well designed to ensure that pupils understand and remember important knowledge in sensible steps. Teachers present new knowledge clearly and in small chunks. Usually, they give pupils lots of practice and opportunities to review the knowledge and skills they need. Teachers check that pupils have a secure grasp of this information before moving on to new learning. Pupils' work is typically of a good quality. For some subjects, however, the school has not provided staff with guidance about the exact knowledge pupils must remember over time. When this is the case, staff do not know what key knowledge pupils need to review. Consequently, pupils sometimes forget important knowledge in certain subjects.
The school provides staff with detailed information about each pupil's individual special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff use this guidance effectively, to support pupils to learn well and overcome any challenges they may face.
From Ofsted's April 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its October 2018 inspection - unchanged since its previous inspection.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
About
The Collett School is a 4–16 mixed community special school in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, that was established in 1964.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
41.4%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
Speech and language, Autism, MLD
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby schools
Keep up with The Collett School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to The Collett School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. The Collett School is in Hertfordshire; for families living there:
- Hertfordshire's school travel policy: Read the home to school transport policy
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 18
- Fatal
- 2
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 18 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 2 fatal, 5 serious and 11 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
5 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Hertfordshire is 9 (the median across 590 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
100%
Full
128 pupils
128 places
No spare places
as recorded on GIAS
Area Demand Pressure - Hemel Hempstead
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Hemel Hempstead
Across Hertfordshire council
Places available
15,222
Applications
13,456
Got 1st preference
77.5%
Got preferred school
94.9%
All secondary applications across Hertfordshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(9)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
0
SEN Support
128
EHC Plans
100.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
The Collett School provides for pupils with speech, language and communication needs, autism and moderate learning difficulties.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
128
Total Pupils
95
Boys
33
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
29
Teachers
4.4:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£52,153
Mean salary
2026 data
Pupil Absence2024/25
11.5%
Overall absence
28.9%
Persistent absence
128
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
The Collett School
Showing 10 of 15 linked schools
Questions parents ask about The Collett School
What are SATs results like at The Collett School?
Of the pupils at The Collett School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 0% reached the expected standard in reading and 0% did so in maths.
What is The Collett School's Ofsted rating?
The Collett School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in April 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in October 2018, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for The Collett School?
No fixed boundary. When The Collett School is oversubscribed, Hertfordshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
How many pupils go to The Collett School?
The Collett School has around 128 pupils on roll. 41% are eligible for free school meals.
Does The Collett School have specialist SEN provision?
The Collett School provides for pupils with speech, language and communication needs, autism and moderate learning difficulties.
What is attendance like at The Collett School?
11.5% of sessions were missed at The Collett School in 2024/25. 28.9% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to The Collett School?
Apply through Hertfordshire's coordinated admissions process, naming The Collett School on your application. The national closing date in England is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.
How many road collisions happen near The Collett School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 18 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 2 fatal, 5 serious and 11 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 5 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Hertfordshire is 9 (the median across 590 schools, same distance and years).
Where is The Collett School?
The Collett School is at Lockers Park Lane, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP1 1TQ.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)