Fred Nicholson School
Special schoolFred Nicholson School is a special school in Breckland, for pupils aged 3 to 19. It had 195 pupils at the school census in January 2026.
Ofsted
Latest inspections as at 30 September 2026Some aspects not as strong, March 2025
- Latest ungraded inspection
- Some aspects not as strong, 12 March 2025
Outcomes as Ofsted published them. Report cards (from November 2025) give no overall grade, and grades under different frameworks can’t be compared.
Results
Department for EducationIn 2024/25, 0% of pupils at Fred Nicholson School met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 56% in Norfolk and 62% in England.
0% reached the higher standard (8% in England).
End of primary school (KS2)
2024/25| Measure | This school | Norfolk | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 56% | 62% |
| Reached the higher standard | 0% | 5% | 8% |
| Average scaled score in reading | Does not apply to this school | 105 | 106 |
| Average scaled score in maths | Does not apply to this school | 103 | 105 |
End of secondary school (KS4, GCSEs)
2025/26, provisional| Measure | This school | Breckland | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Attainment 8 score | Does not apply to this school | 42.4 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | Does not apply to this school | 38.6% | 46.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | Does not apply to this school | 60.2% | 64.8% |
| Pupils at the end of KS4 | 32 | – | – |
- Fred Nicholson School teaches pupils with needs that most schools' pupils do not have, often in very small year groups, so its results are not a fair comparison with mainstream schools. They are not shown on the map.
- Progress scores from KS1 to KS2 were not published for 2024/25, because the KS1 tests that give the starting point were cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
- The 2025/26 figures are provisional. The Department for Education publishes revised ones later in the school year.
- Progress 8 cannot be worked out for 2025/26, because the KS2 tests that give the starting point were cancelled in 2020 and 2021.
- Results reflect the pupils a school admits as well as its teaching, and a year's results can move a lot in a small school.
Schools nearby
In a straight line- OneSchool Global UK - Swaffham CampusIndependent. Not in Ofsted's state-funded schools file790 m
- Swaffham Meadow Primary SchoolPrimary. Inadequate (overall), February 2024, before the school changed, serious weaknesses. 0% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)870 m
- Heartwood CofE VC Primary & Nursery SchoolPrimary. Good (overall), July 2023. 38% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)1.1 km
- The Nicholas Hamond AcademySecondary. Report card, March 2026: safeguarding met. Attainment 8 of 43.7 (2025/26, provisional)1.4 km
- Swaffham CofE Primary AcademyPrimary. Good (overall), June 2023. 41% met the expected standard at KS2 (2024/25)1.5 km
Admissions and catchments are set by councils and schools, which Open Index doesn’t map. Every school in Breckland
Where these figures come from
- Schools: the school lists of the Department for Education, the Welsh Government and the Scottish Government, with Ofsted’s latest inspections for England.
- Results: the Department for Education’s school performance tables (Open Government Licence).