Spring Valley School
Spring Valley, The Old Rectory, Risley Lane, Breaston, DE72 3AUOpen in maps (opens in a new tab)
Spring Valley School is a special school in Breaston for ages 5 to 16. It is one of the 449 schools in Derbyshire. Its latest Ofsted rating is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.
Ofsted inspection
Inspected 11 February 2025, report published 23 March 2025
- Overall effectiveness
- Good
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Met
What Ofsted said
From the inspection on 11 February 2025
This school exudes positivity. It is a warm, happy place. Its nurturing environment helps new pupils settle quickly. Pupils feel safe, welcome and valued. With the encouragement and support of highly skilled and patient staff, pupils develop their self-esteem, confidence and resilience. Many pupils have had a disrupted experience of education prior to joining the school. All pupils have an education, health and care plan (EHC plan) for social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. The school has high aspirations for what pupils can achieve. Staff know pupils' needs well. They make sure that pupils receive highly personalised learning and support. This individual approach ensures that pupils make good progress from their starting points. There are strong relationships between staff and pupils. Staff model the values that they want pupils to take on board. They treat pupils with respect, compassion and care. Staff help pupils recognise how they are feeling and how to deal with their emotions in a calm way. Most of the time, pupils have positive attitudes to learning and treat each other kindly. Staff help pupils to reflect on any negative behaviour and make amends. Pupils' behaviour improves while they are at the school.
What the school should improve
- At times, staff do not identify and correct pupils' mistakes well enough. As a result, pupils sometimes repeat the same errors which hinders their progress through the curriculum in some subjects. The school should ensure that staff check closely on pupils' learning so that misconceptions are resolved swiftly, and pupils achieve as well as they can in all areas of the curriculum.
- The school sometimes waits too long to find out why some pupils are repeatedly absent. This means that improvements to some pupils' poor attendance do not happen as rapidly as they could. The school should review its systems for securing high attendance so that the root causes of some pupils' recurring absence are identified and resolved quickly.
Pupil numbers and mix
12 pupils on roll, with places for 24
Schools near Spring Valley School
| School | Distance | Ofsted | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brackenfield Special School | 0.9 miles | Ofsted judgements: Outstanding | 0% met the expected standard |
| Stanton Vale School | 1 mile | Ofsted judgements: Good to outstanding | 0% met the expected standard |
| Meadowbrook School | 1 mile | No Ofsted inspection | Not published |
| Foxwood Academy | 4 miles | Ofsted: Good | Attainment 8: 0.5 |
| Welden School | 4 miles | Ofsted: Good | Not published |
School details
- School type
- Other independent special school
- Sector
- Independent
- Age range
- 5 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Admissions
- Selective
- Boarding places
- Yes
- Headteacher
- Mrs Dina Chhabra
- Phone
- 07561704643
- Address
- Spring Valley, The Old Rectory, Risley Lane, Breaston, DE72 3AU
- Local authority
- Derbyshire
- URN
- 148406
School details from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026. Ofsted outcomes published to 31 August 2026. Pupil mix from the school census, 2025/26.