Maltby Academy

Overall, Maltby Academy is a school in the middle of a successful transformation. Inspectors found a calm, inclusive and positive culture where pupils behave well, feel safe and belong, and where leaders have overhauled the curriculum and improved attendance. Inclusion and personal development and wellbeing are particular strengths, with highly effective support for vulnerable pupils and pupils with SEND, a broad enrichment offer, and a well-planned life skills programme. Safeguarding standards are met. However, pupils' achievement is the clear area for improvement. Historical underperformance in mathematics has depressed the proportion of pupils achieving grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSEs, including disadvantaged pupils, although leaders are acting decisively and gaps are closing. Other areas – attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, leadership and governance, and post-16 provision – are broadly in line with expected standards, but inspectors identified next steps around consistent checking of learning and improving sixth-form academic performance. Context: This is a mainstream secondary academy of close to average size, part of Maltby Learning Trust. It has above-average proportions of pupils with SEND support and EHC plans, and around a third of pupils are eligible for free school meals. This was a full section 5 inspection under the current framework.

Strengths

• Strong, inclusive culture where vulnerable pupils and pupils with SEND are well supported.
• Highly effective 'Exceed' and 'Succeed' provision for pupils with SEND.
• Leaders use a weekly vulnerable learners network to review and adapt support.
• Disadvantaged pupils learn well from their starting points, and additional funding has improved attendance.
• Personal development and wellbeing provision is well sequenced, covering mental health, online safety and healthy relationships.
• An impressive enrichment programme, including activities such as boxing, trampolining and sword dancing, is available to all pupils.
• Pupils are respectful, courteous, considerate, kind, calm and motivated.
• Attendance is improving and suspensions are decreasing; bullying and discriminatory language are rare.
• Leaders have transformed the curriculum, with ambitious 39-week plans and effective teaching.
• Pupils with SEND, including in the sixth form, achieve well.
• Leaders, governors and trustees work intelligently, and staff feel well supported with manageable workloads.
• Sixth-form students receive effective careers guidance and are well prepared for university or work.
• Safeguarding standards are met.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement requires attention because of historic underperformance in mathematics.
• Too few pupils achieve grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSEs, including disadvantaged pupils.
• The renewed mathematics curriculum is not yet consistently well delivered, so national test outcomes need to improve.
• Checks on pupils' learning are not used consistently enough to identify gaps and misconceptions.
• Sixth-form students do not always attain in national examinations as well as they could.
• Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes in English and maths GCSEs remain a concern, with a large gap compared with non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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 Maltby Academy attended 89.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 31.5% 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, 14.5% of pupils at Maltby Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Maltby Academy had 18.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.9% 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, 19.7% of pupils at Maltby Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.5% 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 2024–25 Maltby Academy received £8,098 and spent £7,783 for each of its 1,125 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,108,000 (£985 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Place Partnership - A Multi-Academy Trust, income was £7,667 and spending £7,527 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Rotherham · Rotherham local authority: places and applications

Maltby Academy is part of Place Partnership - A Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Maltby Manor Academy Rotherham
• Maltby Lilly Hall Academy Rotherham
• Maltby Redwood Academy Rotherham
• Ravenfield Primary Academy Rotherham
• Sir Thomas Wharton Academy Doncaster
• Wath Academy Rotherham
• Horbury Primary Academy Wakefield
• Horbury Academy Wakefield
• Middlestown Primary Academy Wakefield
• South Ossett Infant Academy Ossett

What is Maltby Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Maltby Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Maltby Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Maltby Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Maltby Academy have?

Maltby Academy has 1,096 pupils on roll.

What age range does Maltby Academy cover?

Maltby Academy for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are Maltby Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.8, and 39% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Maltby Academy?

Maltby Academy is at Braithwell Road, Maltby, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, S66 8AB.