Royal School for the Deaf Derby
Royal School for the Deaf Derby is a non-maintained special school in Derby for boys and girls aged 3 to 19. It has 127 pupils and room for 141. About 38 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England.
Ashbourne Road, Derby, DE22 3BH01332 362512rsdd.org.ukMr Paul Burrows headteacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
10 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Derby | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 8 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 9.7 | 2.7 | 7.2 | 16.6 | 5.9 | 8.4 | 42.7 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -1.30 | -1.04 | -0.77 | -1.01 | -1.03 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 10% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 38% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 10% | 0% | 0% | 13% | 0% | 0% | 59% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 0.58 | 0.17 | 0.41 | 0.90 | 0.29 | 0.35 | 3.73 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 33% | 41% |
A level and sixth-form results, 2018
24 students finished sixth-form courses.
All sixth-form measures, year by year
| Measure | 2018 |
|---|---|
| Students | 24 |
| Average A level grade | NE |
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 Derby council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
What parents say
From Ofsted's Parent View survey: 10 parents answered in the year to 6 April 2026. Parents choose whether to fill it in, and many only do so when an inspection is coming, so don't read too much into small differences. The England figures are the average for all schools with enough answers to publish.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with hearing 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 Derby with hearing impairment provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Hearing impairment (123), Severe learning difficulty (2), Multi-sensory impairment (1), language and communications needs (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 127 | 110 | 96 | 103 | 105 | 109 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 48% | 47% | 54% | 55% | 57% | 62% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 79% | 90% | 85% | 85% | 85% | 84% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 3% | 2% | 1% | 0% | 5% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 97% | 98% | 99% | 100% | 95% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 89.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 10.6% | 9.5% | 11.9% | 12.3% | 8.1% | 7.8% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 8.1% | 7.7% | 10.1% | 11.6% | 7.9% | 7.3% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.5% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 0.5% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 36.8% | 39.7% | 39.7% | 45.1% | 36.0% | 20.3% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.9 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 10.5 | 5.5 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 13 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 88% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 100% | 88% | 100% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 13% | 0% | 0% |
The area around the school
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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashgate Primary School | Council | 470 m | 313 | Good 2023 | 15 | Compare |
| Jasmine Hall School | Independent | 620 m | 30 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Ashgate Nursery School | Local authority nursery school | 690 m | 68 | Report card 2026 | – | Compare |
| Whitecross Nursery School | Local authority nursery school | 730 m | 86 | Outstanding 2024 | – | Compare |
| Markeaton Primary School | Council | 770 m | 418 | No overall grade 2024 | 59 | Compare |
| Bridge Street School | Academy alternative provision converter | 780 m | 79 | No overall grade 2024 | – | Compare |
| Derby Cathedral School | Free school | 980 m | 1,159 | Good 2023 | 32 | Compare |
| Emmanuel School (Derby) Limited | Independent | 0.6 miles | 55 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Royal School for the Deaf Derby a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score Royal School for the Deaf Derby yet.
How good are Royal School for the Deaf Derby's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 10% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 9.7, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished about a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does Royal School for the Deaf Derby have?
127 pupils aged 3 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 141 places, so it is 90% full.
What is attendance like at Royal School for the Deaf Derby?
Pupils were in school 89.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 37% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
What do parents say about Royal School for the Deaf Derby?
80% of the 10 parents who answered Ofsted's Parent View survey would recommend it to other parents, and 90% say their child is happy there. Across England, 84% of parents would recommend their child's school.
Does Royal School for the Deaf Derby have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for hearing impairment. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Royal School for the Deaf Derby have a sixth form?
Yes. The average A level grade in 2018 was NE.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Ashbourne Road, Derby, DE22 3BH
- Telephone
- 01332 362512
- Website
- www.rsdd.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Paul Burrows
- Type of school
- Non-maintained special school (Non-maintained special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 3-19, with nursery, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Derby
- Ward
- Darley
- Constituency
- Derby North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 113044 · LAESTAB 8317023 · UKPRN 10010767
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.