Sidestrand Hall School
Cromer Road, Sidestrand, Cromer, NR27 0NH
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Foundation special school
- Ages
- 7 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- Trust Norfolk-SEN
- Headteacher
- Ms Shelley Taylor
- Boarding
- Boarding school
- SEN provision
- VI - Visual Impairment, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- North Norfolk
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 199
- Pupils on roll
- 199
- URN
- 121254
- Local authority
- Norfolk
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01263578144
About this school
Sidestrand Hall School is a foundation special school in Cromer. It teaches children aged 7 to 19 and has 199 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 7 November 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 13 | 10 | 14 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -19.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -19.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -19.40 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 26 | 28 | 21 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Sidestrand Hall School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Norfolk average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 49.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 49.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 52.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 194 |
| 2023/24 | 192 |
| 2024/25 | 193 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 49.35%
- English as an additional language
- 2.6%
- Overall absence
- 8.71%
- Persistent absence
- 26.43%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Andrew's School5.5 miles
Special schools · Cromer
-
Beeston Hall School5.5 miles
Independent schools · Cromer
-
Visiting Teacher Service North6.1 miles
Other types · North Walsham
-
Sheringham Woodfields School6.9 miles
Special schools · Sheringham
-
The Stables Independent School10.2 miles
Special schools · Norwich
Other schools in Cromer
- St Andrew's School Special schools
- Cromer Junior School Primary
- Northrepps Primary School Primary
- Overstrand, the Belfry, Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School Primary
- Suffield Park Infant and Nursery School, Cromer Primary
- Cromer Academy Secondary
- Beeston Hall School Independent schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Sidestrand Hall School teach?
- Sidestrand Hall School teaches children aged 7 to 19. It is a special school in Cromer.
- Who is the headteacher of Sidestrand Hall School?
- The headteacher of Sidestrand Hall School is Ms Shelley Taylor, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Sidestrand Hall School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sidestrand Hall School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Sidestrand Hall School?
- Sidestrand Hall School has 199 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 19.
- Is Sidestrand Hall School full?
- Sidestrand Hall School has capacity for 199 pupils and 199 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Sidestrand Hall School a faith school?
- No. Sidestrand Hall School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Sidestrand Hall School?
- Sidestrand Hall School is part of Trust Norfolk-SEN. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Sidestrand Hall School have?
- The schools register lists Sidestrand Hall School's special educational needs provision as: VI - Visual Impairment; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Sidestrand Hall School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Sidestrand Hall School's absence rate?
- Sidestrand Hall School's overall absence rate is 8.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sidestrand Hall School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sidestrand Hall School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 30 June 2026.