Holly House Special School
Church Street North, Old Whittington, Chesterfield, S41 9QR
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 7 to 14
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Marc Hughes
- Boarding
- Boarding school
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Chesterfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 43
- Pupils on roll
- 43
- URN
- 131322
- Local authority
- Derbyshire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01246450530
About this school
Holly House Special School is a community special school in Chesterfield. It teaches children aged 7 to 14 and has 43 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Holly House Special School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 8 | 6 | 6 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 17% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 33% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 17% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | 95.0 | 98.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | 96.0 | 91.0 |
| Reading progress | -19.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -19.30 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -18.70 | - | - |
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.
Trends over time
How Holly House Special 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 | Derbyshire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 58.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 56.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 17% | 57.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 16.9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 24% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 24.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 45 |
| 2023/24 | 45 |
| 2024/25 | 43 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 76.74%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 24.14%
- Persistent absence
- 52.27%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bluebank School1.2 miles
Special schools · Chesterfield
-
Ashgate Croft School2.5 miles
Academies · Chesterfield
-
St Peter and St Paul School2.8 miles
Independent schools · Chesterfield
-
Chesterfield Hospital School2.8 miles
Other types · Chesterfield
-
Esteem North Academy3.9 miles
Academies · Chesterfield
Other schools in Chesterfield
- Ashgate Croft School Academies
- Bluebank School Special schools
- Eastwood Grange School Special schools
- Esteem North Academy Academies
- Jasmine Grove School Special schools
- New Direction Special schools
- Abercrombie Primary School Primary
- Arkwright Primary School Primary
- Ashover Primary School Primary
- Barlborough Primary School Primary
- Barrow Hill Primary Academy Primary
- Bolsover Church of England Junior School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Holly House Special School teach?
- Holly House Special School teaches children aged 7 to 14. It is a special school in Chesterfield.
- Who is the headteacher of Holly House Special School?
- The headteacher of Holly House Special School is Mr Marc Hughes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Holly House Special School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Holly House Special 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 many pupils are at Holly House Special School?
- Holly House Special School has 43 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 14.
- Is Holly House Special School full?
- Holly House Special School has capacity for 43 pupils and 43 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 Holly House Special School a faith school?
- No. Holly House Special School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Holly House Special School have?
- The schools register lists Holly House Special School's special educational needs provision as: SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Holly House Special 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 17% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Holly House Special School's absence rate?
- Holly House Special School's overall absence rate is 24.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Holly House Special School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Holly House Special 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.