Hailey Hall School

Hailey Hall School is a small special academy for boys with social, emotional and mental health needs, all of whom have an education, health and care plan. Many pupils arrive with disrupted prior education. Inspectors found the school performing well across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management, a clear improvement on its previous requires improvement judgement. Staff re-engage pupils gradually, have high expectations, and help them secure college, training or work places by the end of Year 11. The curriculum is clearly structured and staff have strong subject knowledge. Reading is a priority and targeted support has improved fluency and vocabulary. Pupils benefit from clear routines, mental well-being support and a well-planned personal development and careers programme, and they develop respectful, balanced views. Safeguarding is effective, and trust oversight is challenging but mindful of staff workload. Pupils generally behave well and understand the code of conduct. However, attendance and disengagement remain concerns for some pupils, including a few who miss school because of unwelcome behaviours. Leaders' actions are effective in individual cases, but the school lacks a sufficiently clear whole-school approach to improving attendance and engagement sustainably. In some subjects, work is not ambitious enough, so some pupils do not move on to more demanding work or higher qualification pathways as quickly as they could.

Strengths

• Successfully re-engages pupils with disrupted prior education
• Offers broad qualification and vocational routes for suitable post-16 pathways
• Curriculum is clearly structured to build and revisit knowledge
• Staff subject knowledge supports gap-filling and skill development
• Targeted reading interventions improve fluency, vocabulary and confidence
• Clear learning routines and emotional support help pupils access learning
• Well-thought-out personal development and careers programme
• Pupils develop mature, respectful and balanced views
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Trust provides effective, challenging oversight while mindful of staff wellbeing

Areas for Improvement

• Attendance remains too low for some pupils, including due to unwelcome behaviours
• Whole-school approach to tackling attendance and disengagement is not sufficiently clear or cohesive
• Some individualised strategies are not producing sustained improvement quickly enough
• Some work set is not ambitious enough, limiting progress to harder work or higher qualification pathways
• Some pupils miss out on learning because of attendance and disengagement issues

In 2024–25 pupils at Hailey Hall School attended 76.1% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 48.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 35.3%).

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, 39.8% of pupils at Hailey Hall School were suspended at least once (nationally 5.1%). 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 Hailey Hall School had 4.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.5%).

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 Hailey Hall School had 81 pupils, 100.0% of them with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 99.5%).

It says it provides for: social, emotional and mental health.

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 special school schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Hailey Hall School received £30,169 and spent £31,120 for each of its 83 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £719,000 (£8,663 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

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What is Hailey Hall School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hailey Hall School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Hailey Hall School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hailey Hall School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Hailey Hall School have?

Hailey Hall School has 81 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hailey Hall School cover?

Hailey Hall School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Hailey Hall School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 10.0, and 0% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Hailey Hall School?

Hailey Hall School is at Hailey Lane, Hertford, Hertfordshire, SG13 7PB.