School Chooser

Horton Lodge Community Special School

Special · ages 2-11MixedCouncil66 pupilsNurseryLeekStaffordshire
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, January 2024
Reached the expected level at 110%England 63%
Attendance85.4%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families38%Far more than most schools
Pupils per teacher8.7School workforce census
Pupils on roll66Census January 2026

Horton Lodge Community Special School is a council special school in Leek for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 66 pupils. About 38 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Rudyard, Leek, ST13 8RB01538 306214hortonlodge.staffs.sch.ukMrs Lucy Bloor headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 24 January 2024 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

16 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 110%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading scoreOfficial name: Reading average scaled score
Maths scoreOfficial name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 0%0%20172019: 0%0%20192023: 0%0%20232024: 0%0%20242025: 0%0%2025
Since 2017: +0%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017StaffordshireEngland
Pupils tested1696848
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%0%66%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%0%8%8%
Expected level: readingReading expected standard0%0%0%0%0%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard0%0%0%0%0%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)0%0%0%0%0%
Reading progressReading progress score-0.5-1.9
Maths progressMaths progress score+1.4-3.1
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged0%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged0%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
0%0%
No gapEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Staffordshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll66Census January 2026
Pupils from low-income families38%38% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English11%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support2%1 pupil with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan99%65 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)37%£37,200 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls36 / 30
White British pupils80%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Staffordshire with hearing impairment provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Physical disability (26), language and communications needs (19), Profound and multiple learning difficulty (5), Severe learning difficulty (5), Autistic spectrum disorder (3), Multi-sensory impairment (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll666260575656
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals38%29%27%21%16%13%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language11%10%3%2%2%2%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%0%4%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%100%96%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 85.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance85.4%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school53.2%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.4%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence14.7%12.6%13.1%17.2%12.8%14.1%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence13.3%12.5%13.0%17.1%12.6%13.6%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.4%0.1%0.1%0.1%0.2%0.5%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence53.2%42.1%48.2%64.3%36.7%45.2%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.00.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers7.6full-time equivalent, 8 people
Pupils per teacher8.7Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants31.9full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£52,664
Teachers who left in the year13%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher0.42024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£35,259England £32,258. Total £2.2m
Income per pupil£36,623England £32,367. Total £2.2m
Spent on teachers per pupil£8,582England £11,930
Money in reserve-2%In the red: -£33k, -£539 per pupil. England 7%
Money in against money out+£83kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£35,259spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m1112 months to June 2026, mostly anti-social behaviour
Local crime rate36 per 1,000 people61% lower than the England average
Typical house price£226,500Staffordshire Moorlands
Nearest bus stop960 mLakeland Lodge, 0 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Horton St Michael's CofE First SchoolAcademy440 m54Good 202418Compare
Westwood CollegeAcademy1.8 miles735Requires improvement 202420Compare
Westwood First SchoolAcademy2.1 miles251Good 202362Compare
St Edward's Church of England AcademyAcademy2.1 miles662No overall grade 202461Compare
Woodcroft AcademyAcademy2.3 miles138Good 202483Compare
Rushton CofE First SchoolAcademy2.5 miles47No overall grade 202594Compare
Moor First SchoolFoundation2.5 miles58No overall grade 202568Compare
St Mary's Catholic AcademyAcademy2.5 miles179Not inspected91Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Horton Lodge Community Special School a good school?

Horton Lodge Community Special School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in January 2024.

What is Horton Lodge Community Special School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Horton Lodge Community Special School good at its last full inspection on 24 January 2024.

How good are Horton Lodge Community Special School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Horton Lodge Community Special School have?

66 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026.

What is attendance like at Horton Lodge Community Special School?

Pupils were in school 85.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 53% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Horton Lodge Community Special School have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for hearing impairment, moderate learning difficulties, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, profound and multiple learning difficulties, speech, language and communication, severe learning difficulties, specific learning difficulties, visual impairment. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Rudyard, Leek, ST13 8RB
Telephone
01538 306214
Website
www.hortonlodge.staffs.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Lucy Bloor
Type of school
Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 2-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Staffordshire
Ward
Horton
Constituency
Staffordshire Moorlands
Setting
Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
124496 · LAESTAB 8607003 · UKPRN 10077063

Where these figures come from