Spen Valley High School

Spen Valley High School is a warm and supportive school where pupils feel safe, cared for and respected. Safeguarding is effective, inclusion is a clear strength, and staff know pupils well. Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils generally receive appropriate support and can access wider opportunities. Pastoral care is strong, behaviour is typically good, and pupils value the school's restorative approach. Careers education and extra-curricular provision are also notable strengths, helping pupils move on to suitable destinations. However, the school faces significant challenges. Pupils' achievement is too low and has been below national averages for several years, with too many pupils leaving key stage 4 with gaps in their knowledge. Teaching is inconsistent, the curriculum is more developed in some subjects than others, and not all pupils receive the support they need, particularly in early reading. Attendance is also a serious concern: too many pupils are regularly absent, which limits their learning and progress. The school has a newly appointed senior leadership team that understands the context and has correctly identified priorities. Leaders have introduced improvement strategies and professional development, and staff feel well supported. Even so, several areas require further work: governors are not yet rigorous enough in providing challenge, the personal development programme does not cover all important topics well, and attendance analysis needs further development. Overall, the school is taking the right steps, but the impact of recent actions is not yet consistent or embedded.

Strengths

• Safeguarding arrangements are effective and pupils feel safe.
• Inclusion is at the heart of the school and pupils with additional needs feel included.
• Pupils with SEND typically receive appropriate adaptations in lessons.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND benefit from wider opportunities.
• Staff work closely with external agencies to support children in care and other vulnerable pupils.
• Pastoral care is a strength, with adults pupils can turn to for help.
• Pupils behave well in lessons and at social times, and poor behaviour is dealt with quickly.
• Suspensions and permanent exclusions have steadily reduced.
• Careers education is carefully thought through and has improved pupils' destinations.
• A wide range of extra-curricular clubs, trips and visits is available to all pupils.
• Pupils value the strong relationships and supportive culture across the school.
• Staff appreciate leaders' consideration of workload and wellbeing and the professional development offer.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not make the progress they should across the curriculum.
• Too many pupils leave key stage 4 with gaps in their knowledge.
• Pupils have not achieved as well as their peers nationally in public tests and examinations for several years.
• Teaching is inconsistent, and not all staff use strategies effectively to deepen pupils' understanding.
• Staff do not always adapt teaching effectively to pupils' starting points.
• The curriculum is more established in some subjects than others, leaving gaps in recently developed subjects.
• Not all pupils who struggle with reading, handwriting or mathematics receive the support they need.
• Pupils' attendance is lower than it should be, and too many pupils are regularly absent.
• Persistent absence is above the national average.
• Governors are not sufficiently rigorous in overseeing all areas of provision, so underperformance has not been challenged.
• The personal development programme does not develop pupils' knowledge of important topics such as modern British citizenship well enough.
• Leaders' analysis and use of attendance information need further development to remove barriers to attendance.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Spen Valley High School attended 90.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.7% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 7.5% of pupils at Spen Valley High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Spen Valley High School had 15.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.1% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 22.7% of pupils at Spen Valley High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Spen Valley High School received £8,324 and spent £8,990 for each of its 960 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £141,000 (-£147 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Liversedge · Kirklees local authority: places and applications

Spen Valley High School is part of The Spenborough Co-Operative Trust, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• Littletown Junior Infant and Nursery School Liversedge

What is Spen Valley High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Spen Valley High School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Spen Valley High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Spen Valley High School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Spen Valley High School have?

Spen Valley High School has 958 pupils on roll.

What age range does Spen Valley High School cover?

Spen Valley High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Spen Valley High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 36.3, and 28% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Spen Valley High School?

Spen Valley High School is at Roberttown Lane, Liversedge, West Yorkshire, WF15 7LX.