Norton Canes High School

Norton Canes High School, a small secondary comprehensive institution, is currently performing at a level that requires significant improvement across several key areas, including the quality of education, behavior, personal development, leadership, and sixth-form provision. While there have been some positive strides, such as better curriculum structuring and improved support for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), persistent absenteeism among pupils remains a significant concern. The staff are dedicated and work hard to know their students individually, fostering a supportive school environment that is valued by pupils. However, challenges exist with the consistency of teaching and ensuring that all pupils make adequate progress.

Strengths

• Staff get to know pupils well and provide individual care and support.
• Pupils value the efforts made to tackle bullying and report that it is dealt with swiftly.
• Improvements have been made in the curriculum, allowing more subject choices at key stage 4.
• Provision for pupils with SEND has seen significant improvement.
• Extracurricular opportunities are varied and well-received by pupils.
• Governance has strengthened, providing better support and challenge to school leaders.

Areas for Improvement

• Teachers do not consistently check pupils' understanding, leading to gaps in knowledge.
• Pupils are sometimes given work that does not match their ability, affecting quality.
• High rates of persistent absence among pupils.
• Induction and recruitment process for the sixth form is not rigorous enough.

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 Norton Canes High School attended 90.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.1% 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, 10.3% of pupils at Norton Canes High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 Norton Canes High School had 11.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.6% 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, 16.2% of pupils at Norton Canes High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 7.2% 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 Norton Canes High School received £8,954 and spent £10,871 for each of its 403 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £1,568,000 (-£3,891 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 Cannock · Staffordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Norton Canes High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Norton Canes High School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2024.

When was Norton Canes High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Norton Canes High School was last inspected in June 2024.

How many pupils does Norton Canes High School have?

Norton Canes High School has 400 pupils on roll.

What age range does Norton Canes High School cover?

Norton Canes High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Norton Canes High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 43.5, and 35% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Norton Canes High School?

Norton Canes High School is at Burntwood Road, Norton Canes, Cannock, Staffordshire, WS11 9SP.