Hollis Academy

Overall, Hollis Academy is performing at the expected standard across the inspected areas, and safeguarding requirements are met. It is a specialist SEMH school where every pupil has an education, health and care plan, and many arrive with significant gaps in learning or previous difficulties engaging with education. Leaders have built a safe, caring and respectful culture, and pupils generally behave well, feel listened to and are supported to re-engage with learning. The curriculum is well planned and taught, pupils access a range of qualifications, and most leave with English and maths accreditation. Personal development, pastoral care and careers support are strengths, with enrichment and preparation for adulthood woven through the school. However, several areas need further work. Attendance, although improving, remains below national averages, and persistent absence, while reducing, is still high. Leaders' monitoring and tracking systems are not yet coherent across all areas, so some adaptations and interventions are not adjusted as swiftly or precisely as they could be. Professional learning is not consistently matched to whole-school improvement priorities, which limits how well highly effective teaching is embedded across subjects and year groups. The school should continue to improve attendance and sharpen its use of monitoring to target provision and teaching more systematically.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and build trusting, respectful relationships with staff.
• Pupils feel listened to and their voices are heard.
• Behaviour expectations are clear and consistently upheld, and pupils generally behave well.
• Bullying is not commonplace and staff respond swiftly when it occurs.
• The curriculum is well planned, appropriately sequenced and typically taught well.
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge and check pupils' understanding effectively.
• Teaching is adapted using knowledge of pupils and information from EHC plans.
• Pupils receive support to develop reading and numeracy skills where needed.
• Leaders identify pupils' barriers to learning quickly and accurately.
• The school works well with external professionals, including occupational therapists and mental health services.
• Personal development is at the heart of the school's work, with strong pastoral care.
• The personal development programme reflects pupils' SEND and prepares them for later life.
• Enrichment activities, including VocEd, Duke of Edinburgh and Hollis 50, build confidence and life skills.
• Careers education includes meaningful workplace and further education visits.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and feel supported by leaders.
• Governance provides appropriate support and challenge, and statutory duties are met.
• Leaders have made notable improvements to attendance over time.
• Pupils produce high-quality work and use subject terminology confidently.
• All key stage 4 pupils have recently achieved accreditation in English and mathematics.

Areas for Improvement

• Overall attendance remains below national averages.
• Persistent absence, though reducing, is still high.
• Leaders' monitoring and tracking are not yet coherent across all areas of the school's work.
• Some adaptations and provision are not made as skilfully or swiftly as they could be.
• Professional learning is not precisely matched to whole-school improvement priorities.
• Highly effective teaching is not yet embedded across all subjects and year groups.
• Tracking of progress from out-of-class interventions is inconsistent.
• Tracking of the personal development programme does not consistently shape and target future provision.
• Some pupils who are regularly absent do not talk confidently about their learning.

In 2024–25 pupils at Hollis Academy attended 65.3% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 69.1% 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, 24.7% of pupils at Hollis Academy 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 Hollis Academy had 6.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.4% 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 Hollis Academy had 90 pupils, 100.0% of them with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 99.5%).

It says it provides for: moderate learning difficulty; 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 Hollis Academy received £31,867 and spent £31,631 for each of its 89 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £393,000 (£4,412 per pupil).

Across all 7 schools of Horizons Specialist Academy Trust, income was £28,545 and spending £28,434 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.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Middlesbrough · Middlesbrough local authority: places and applications

Hollis Academy is part of Horizons Specialist Academy Trust, which runs 7 schools. The nearest others:

• Westlands Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• Mo Mowlam Academy Redcar
• Abbey Hill Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• Green Gates Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• Norman Cornish Academy Spennymoor
• The Woodlands Academy Scarborough

What is Hollis Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hollis Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Hollis Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Hollis Academy was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Hollis Academy have?

Hollis Academy has 90 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hollis Academy cover?

Hollis Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Hollis Academy's GCSE results?

In 2023 its average Attainment 8 score was 6.9, and 0% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Hollis Academy?

Hollis Academy is at Saltersgill Avenue, Middlesbrough, TS4 3JS.