The Hayling College

The Hayling College is a secondary comprehensive school that inspectors judged to require improvement across each of the four key areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. There is much to value in the school’s caring culture. Pupils feel safe, relationships with staff are warm, and recent curriculum changes mean pupils are learning a wider range of subjects in greater depth. Safeguarding is effective, attendance is improving, and pupils benefit from a rich programme of clubs, trips and careers activities, including work experience and employer encounters. The school is inclusive, and most pupils treat each other with kindness and respect. However, the school is in a period of significant change, and several recent initiatives are not yet securely embedded. Teaching does not consistently adapt to pupils’ needs or address gaps in knowledge, and some pupils are not challenged to think deeply or practise independently enough. Support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is not reviewed sharply enough, so some do not get the help they need. Some staff do not tackle disruption effectively, and a small number of pupils with complex behaviour needs experience repeated suspensions; reintegration and review processes are not systematic. Pupils’ personal development is uneven, with limited awareness of different faiths, cultures and perspectives and uncertainty about how to make their voice heard. Leaders and governors have taken important steps, but evaluation of the impact of their work is not yet robust or strategic, including in relation to staff workload. The report therefore identifies a clear need to strengthen teaching, SEND support, behaviour reintegration and strategic quality assurance so that recent improvements translate consistently into better pupil outcomes.

Strengths

• Warm relationships between pupils and caring staff
• Pupils feel safe
• Thoughtful support builds pupils’ confidence and raises aspiration
• Recently redesigned curriculum identifies and sequences important knowledge and skills in depth
• Staff receive regular training on making learning accessible
• Teachers teach clearly and concisely
• Most pupils treat each other with kindness and respect
• Inclusive school where all are welcome
• Rich offer of clubs and trips, with disadvantaged pupils supported to benefit
• Well-developed careers curriculum with work experience and employer encounters
• Attendance is improving with appropriate support
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Alternative education is used thoughtfully to help pupils re-engage

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching is not consistently matched to pupils’ needs
• Pupils do not get enough independent practice or opportunities to link concepts
• Some pupils are not challenged to develop deeper thinking
• Teachers do not always address gaps in pupils’ knowledge effectively
• Teaching sometimes moves on before pupils understand
• SEND plans and support are not reviewed precisely enough
• Some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could
• Some staff do not address disruption effectively
• A small number of pupils with complex behaviour needs face repeated suspensions
• Reintegration and behaviour support processes are not systematic
• Pupils have limited awareness of different faiths, cultures and perspectives
• Pupils are not confident debating current affairs
• Pupils are unclear how to have their voice heard through student leadership
• Governors do not evaluate the impact of school actions strategically enough
• Leaders are not sufficiently clear on the effectiveness of some work and its impact on staff workload

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at The Hayling College attended 90.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 24.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 6.9% of pupils at The Hayling College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 The Hayling College had 14.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 19.0% of pupils at The Hayling College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 The Hayling College received £9,086 and spent £9,088 for each of its 516 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £38,000 (£73 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Havant · Hampshire local authority: places and applications

What is The Hayling College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Hayling College is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was The Hayling College last inspected by Ofsted?

The Hayling College was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does The Hayling College have?

The Hayling College has 516 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Hayling College cover?

The Hayling College for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are The Hayling College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 37.5, and 25% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Hayling College?

The Hayling College is at Church Road, Hayling Island, Hampshire, PO11 0NU.