Critchill Special School
Nunney Road, Frome, BA11 4LB
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 4 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- MIDSOMER NORTON SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP
- Headteacher
- Mrs Emma West
- Sponsor
- Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Frome and East Somerset
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 85
- Pupils on roll
- 96
- URN
- 147126
- Local authority
- Somerset
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01373464148
About this school
Critchill Special School is a special academy in Frome. It teaches children aged 4 to 19 and has 96 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- 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 | 1 | 9 | 6 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | - | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | - | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | - | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | - | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | - | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 10 | 4 | 6 |
| 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 Critchill 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 | Somerset average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 54.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 55.4% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 57.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 89 |
| 2023/24 | 97 |
| 2024/25 | 97 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 39.08%
- English as an additional language
- 5.2%
- Overall absence
- 5.66%
- Persistent absence
- 16.87%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Wessex Lodge School0.5 miles
Special schools · Frome
-
Fromefield Manor School1.1 miles
Special schools · Frome
-
North Hill House1.1 miles
Special schools · Frome
-
Springmead Preparatory School3.3 miles
Independent schools · Somerset
-
Newbury Manor School4.3 miles
Special schools · Frome
Other schools in Frome
- Fromefield Manor School Special schools
- Newbury Manor School Special schools
- North Hill House Special schools
- Wessex Lodge School Special schools
- Beckington Church First School Primary
- Berkley Church of England First School Primary
- Christ Church First School Primary
- Hayesdown First School Primary
- Mells Church First School Primary
- Nunney First School Primary
- Rode Methodist VC First School Primary
- St John's Church of England Voluntary Aided First School, Frome Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Critchill Special School teach?
- Critchill Special School teaches children aged 4 to 19. It is a special school in Frome.
- Who is the headteacher of Critchill Special School?
- The headteacher of Critchill Special School is Mrs Emma West, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Critchill Special School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Critchill 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 big is Critchill Special School?
- Critchill Special School has 96 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 19.
- Is Critchill Special School full?
- Critchill Special School has capacity for 85 pupils and 96 on roll (113%), 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 Critchill Special School a faith school?
- No. Critchill Special School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Critchill Special School?
- Critchill Special School is part of MIDSOMER NORTON SCHOOLS PARTNERSHIP. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Critchill Special School have?
- The schools register lists Critchill Special School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; 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 Critchill Special School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2023/24 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 Critchill Special School's absence rate?
- Critchill Special School's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Critchill Special School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Critchill 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 2 July 2026.