SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning)

SAIL is a small special school where all pupils have EHC plans and many have multiple needs. Safeguarding standards are met. Inspectors found the school performing at the expected standard in attendance and behaviour, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. It is part of Reach South Academy Trust and has stabilised after a significant period of turbulence, with leaders, trust and governors providing effective support and challenge. Pupils are happy, safe and well cared for, and pastoral support, inclusion and personal development are particular strengths. However, achievement and curriculum and teaching need attention. In some subjects, staff do not use pupils' starting points well enough, gaps in knowledge are not addressed promptly, and work does not always match pupils' understanding, so misconceptions and insecure knowledge persist. Curriculum design is disjointed in a few subjects and staff expertise is uneven, meaning teaching is not consistently effective across the school. Leaders have started to address these issues, but it is early days, and pupils are not yet consistently well prepared for their next steps.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where concerns are identified and managed.
• Leaders place a sharp focus on attendance and have secured improvements in overall attendance rates.
• Staff build respectful relationships and apply the behaviour policy consistently and sensitively.
• Pupils feel safe, understood and supported, and bullying and harassment are taken seriously.
• Inclusion is strong, with highly personalised and targeted support from the start.
• Pastoral support is a notable strength and helps pupils manage social and emotional wellbeing.
• Disadvantaged pupils and those with EHC plans are supported effectively, including through pupil premium funding.
• Leaders work purposefully with external specialists and use their advice in EHC plan reviews.
• Staff receive high-quality training and benefit from well-focused professional learning.
• Leadership accurately prioritises development, and trust and governance provide effective support and challenge.
• The school has stabilised after historic turbulence, and pupils are happy and settled.
• Parents, pupils and staff report high levels of satisfaction and value the nurturing care.
• Personal development is well planned and has a positive impact on self-esteem, behaviour and attendance.
• The PSHE curriculum is broad, coherent and includes online safety and healthy relationships.
• Pupils enjoy enriching experiences, including visits, music, residential trips and outdoor learning.
• A careers programme and local links prepare pupils for suitable next destinations.
• The reading curriculum is coherent in places, with high-quality texts and systems to identify gaps.
• Some subjects, such as food technology and computing, show pupils learning and using new skills confidently.
• Classrooms are orderly and purposeful, and pupils typically engage well and behave well.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement requires attention because staff in some subjects do not know pupils' starting points well enough.
• Teachers do not identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge promptly in some subjects.
• Learning activities do not always match pupils' levels of understanding, so pupils acquire misconceptions and insecure knowledge.
• Pupils are not sufficiently well prepared for their next steps in learning.
• Curriculum and teaching require attention because curriculum design is disjointed in a few subjects.
• Staff expertise is unevenly developed across some curriculum subjects.
• Teaching is not consistently effective across the school, so pupils are not always supported to build on previous learning.
• Leaders have begun improvements, but more work is needed to ensure the curriculum is coherently designed and taught well in every subject.
• Assessment is not yet used consistently to identify and address gaps in learning.
• Staff do not always have the expertise to deliver the curriculum as intended.
• Pupils do not consistently achieve as quickly from their starting points as leaders intend.

In 2024–25 pupils at SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning) attended 75.7% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 55.6% 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, 38.8% of pupils at SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning) 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 SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning) had 5.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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 SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning) had 116 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; autistic spectrum disorder.

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 SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning) received £37,617 and spent £35,814 for each of its 85 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £82,000 (£962 per pupil).

Across all 18 schools of Reach South Academy Trust, income was £10,522 and spending £10,515 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 Salisbury · Wiltshire local authority: places and applications

SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning) is part of Reach South Academy Trust, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• Hill View Primary Academy Bournemouth
• Malmesbury Park Primary School Bournemouth
• The Springfields Academy Calne
• Peak Academy Dursley
• ACE Tiverton Special School Tiverton
• Thomas Hall School Exeter
• Goosewell Primary Academy Plymouth
• Courtlands School Plymouth
• Pilgrim Primary Academy Plymouth
• Stuart Road Primary Academy Plymouth

What is SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning)'s Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning) is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning) last inspected by Ofsted?

SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning) was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning) have?

SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning) has 116 pupils on roll.

What age range does SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning) cover?

SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning) for pupils aged 4 to 19.

What are SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning)'s SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 0% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning)?

SAIL (Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning) is at Wilton Road, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP2 7EU.