Hillside Special School is a council-run special school in Sudbury, Suffolk, for children and young people aged 4 to 19. It supports severe learning and PMLD.
- Ages 4–19
- 89 pupils
School details
- Type
- Council special school
- Ages
- 4 to 19
- Boys and girls
- Boys and girls
- Pupils
- 89 (places for 86)
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lizzi Murphy (Headteacher)
- Free school meals
- 48.3% of pupils eligible
- Council
- Suffolk
- School reference (URN)
- 124903
Needs it supports
2 needs: severe learning, PMLD
As listed by the Department for Education, grouped the way EHC plans describe needs.
Cognition and learning
- Severe learning difficulty Other schools for this in Suffolk (12)
- Profound and multiple learning difficulties Other schools for this in Suffolk (5)
How to get a place
4 steps, starting with an EHC plan
- An EHC plan
Places at schools like this usually come through an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. If your child doesn’t have one yet, you can ask the council for an assessment yourself.
- Visit and ask questions
See whether the school feels right and whether it can meet your child’s needs. Our list of questions below can help.
- Ask for the school to be named
Tell the council that looks after the plan (often Suffolk council) that this is the school you want, and ask them to consult it.
- Named in the plan
If the school is named in your child’s plan, it must admit your child. Free home-to-school transport is often part of the arrangement.
Questions to ask when you visit
8 questions to tick off as you go
Ticks stay on this device, so you can use them on the day.
Ofsted
Graded by area, June 2025; school remains Outstanding (Concerns) - S5 Next (September 2023)
Inspected in June 2025. Inspections from September 2024 to November 2025 graded each area but gave no overall grade.
- Quality of educationGood
- Behaviour and attitudesOutstanding
- Personal developmentOutstanding
- Leadership and managementGood
- SafeguardingEffective
Since then: School remains Outstanding (Concerns) - S5 Next (ungraded inspection, September 2023).
Contact and getting there
Hitchcock Place, Sudbury, CO10 1NN
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Directions: Walk Public transport Drive
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The school’s details, how to get a place and the questions to ask, in your inbox.
Other SEND schools nearby
- Woodhall Primary School Mainstream + base · Ages 3–11 · Ofsted: Good 0.2 miles
- St Gregory Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Mainstream + base · Ages 3–11 · Ofsted: Good 0.9 miles
- Chalk Hill Special school · Ages 8–16 · Ofsted: Requires improvement 1.0 mile
By need in Suffolk: Autism (19) · Moderate learning (19) · Speech and language (17) · Severe learning (13) · Hearing (8) · SEMH (6) · PMLD (6) · Dyslexia and SpLD (5) · Physical (5) · Vision (4) · Multi-sensory (3)
Questions about Hillside Special School
How do I get a place at Hillside Special School?
There’s no catchment area or application round. Places usually come through an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan: ask the council that looks after the plan to consult Hillside Special School. If it is named in the plan, the school must admit your child.
What needs does Hillside Special School support?
Severe learning difficulty and profound and multiple learning difficulties. Every child is different, so ask the school how it would meet your child’s needs.
What ages does Hillside Special School take?
Aged 4 to 19, boys and girls.
What is Hillside Special School’s Ofsted rating?
Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in June 2025 at its last graded inspection. Newer inspections no longer give a single overall grade, so read the latest report for the full picture.
Where is Hillside Special School?
Hitchcock Place, Sudbury, CO10 1NN, in Suffolk.
School data: DfE Get Information About Schools, under the Open Government Licence. Postcode lookups by postcodes.io: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right, Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right, and National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right. Distances are as the crow flies. Always check details and admissions with the school and your council.