Holy Brook is a very small special school for pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. A significant proportion also has additional learning difficulties, such as autism. A small number of pupils live in local authorities other than Reading. All pupils have a statement of special educational needs, and almost all of them are boys. Pupils join the school in all year groups. Very few are there for the whole of a key stage. Almost half of the teaching staff have been appointed within the past 18 months. The school receives pupil premium funding for more than three quarters of its pupils, which is considerably higher than the national average. Pupil premium is additional government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and for children who are looked after. The school also receives additional funding for primary school physical education and sport. Pupils represent a range of ethnic backgrounds, with White British being the predominant group. All pupils speak English as their first language. There are no children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. The school does not have any specific partnerships with other schools that involve pupils’ attendance there. It uses other local facilities, such as the leisure centre, to provide additional learning experiences. The headteacher is a Local Leader of Education. The school provides a support service to local schools in advising them about working with pupils with challenging behaviour. At its own request, the governing body received an external review of its effectiveness in 2013. As it is a very small school, Holy Brook does not have middle managers with subject responsibilities other than a very newly appointed leader of mathematics. Class teachers are identified as having a middle management role in leading class teams.