Dereham Neatherd High School

Dereham Neatherd High School is a highly inclusive school where pupils behave well and feel welcomed, including pupils with SEND and those in the specially resourced autism provision. Personal development is strong: pupils take leadership roles, learn about society and ethics, receive broad careers information and access a wide range of clubs. Safeguarding is effective, and staff value how leaders consider workload and wellbeing. The main concern is the quality of education. Many pupils do not achieve as well as they should because the curriculum does not consistently identify gaps in prior knowledge, checks on understanding do not reliably pick up misconceptions, and teaching or activities sometimes fail to challenge or help pupils improve. Some curriculum improvements lack urgency, and governance and trust oversight do not always challenge this robustly enough, though some teaching improvements are beginning to benefit pupils. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. It is part of Enrich Learning Trust, the headteacher took up post in September 2023, and the school has a specially resourced provision for up to 25 pupils with autism; it no longer has sixth-form provision.

Strengths

• Highly inclusive culture that welcomes all pupils
• Strong provision for pupils with SEND, including the specially resourced autism provision
• Pupils behave respectfully and considerately
• Clear and consistently applied behaviour expectations
• Well-designed society and ethics programme
• Broad careers programme supporting informed choices
• Wide range of clubs and wider opportunities
• Effective support helps pupils become confident and fluent readers
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Staff value how leaders consider wellbeing and workload

Areas for Improvement

• Many pupils do not achieve as well as they should
• Curriculum does not consistently identify gaps in pupils’ foundational knowledge
• Assessment checks do not effectively identify what pupils know and can do
• Teaching does not consistently address gaps in pupils’ knowledge
• Some learning activities are too simplistic and do not extend pupils
• Teacher advice does not always help pupils improve their work
• Some curriculum improvement actions lack urgency
• Governance and trust oversight do not robustly hold leaders to account for improvements

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 Dereham Neatherd High School attended 90.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 22.8% 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, 6.8% of pupils at Dereham Neatherd High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 5 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 Dereham Neatherd High School had 16.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.9% 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, 18.4% of pupils at Dereham Neatherd High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 7.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has a SEN unit with 26 pupils.

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 2024–25 Dereham Neatherd High School received £8,179 and spent £7,846 for each of its 1,141 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £770,000 (£675 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Enrich Learning Trust, income was £7,395 and spending £7,499 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 Dereham · Norfolk local authority: places and applications

Dereham Neatherd High School is part of Enrich Learning Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Taverham High School Norwich
• Wymondham High Academy Wymondham
• Spooner Row Primary School Wymondham
• Kenninghall Primary School
• Long Stratton High School Norwich
• Millfield Primary School North Walsham
• North Walsham High School North Walsham
• Diss High School Diss

What is Dereham Neatherd High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Dereham Neatherd High School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Dereham Neatherd High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Dereham Neatherd High School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Dereham Neatherd High School have?

Dereham Neatherd High School has 1,079 pupils on roll.

What age range does Dereham Neatherd High School cover?

Dereham Neatherd High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Dereham Neatherd High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.1, and 40% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Dereham Neatherd High School?

Dereham Neatherd High School is at Norwich Road, Dereham, Norfolk, NR20 3AX.