Shirebrook Academy

Shirebrook Academy is a secondary comprehensive academy within Aston Community Education Trust. Inspected in April 2025, it has continued to improve rapidly since its previous requires improvement judgement and is now performing well across the main areas inspected. Leaders, staff and the trust have created a broad, ambitious curriculum and high expectations, and pupils generally behave well in calm, productive lessons. Notable strengths include strong staff-pupil relationships, effective reading support, improving attendance, timely SEND identification and interventions, a wide range of visits, and careers provision that prepares pupils for next steps. Safeguarding is effective and staff feel well supported. However, curriculum implementation is inconsistent in some subjects, some pupils with SEND do not receive precise enough support, and personal development/SMSC delivery is variable. Published outcomes also do not yet reflect the quality of current provision.

Strengths

• Broad, well-organised curriculum that meets pupils’ needs and interests
• Calm, productive lessons supported by high behaviour expectations
• Strong staff-pupil relationships and pupils feel safe
• Effective reading support that builds fluency and confidence
• Timely, expert interventions for pupils with SEND
• Improving attendance due to well-considered support
• Wide range of educational visits and trips that build cultural capital
• Careers provision prepares pupils well for their next steps
• Staff feel well supported with reduced workload and improved wellbeing
• Highly effective leadership and trust support driving improvement
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Pupils know who to speak to and bullying is handled swiftly

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent in some subjects, so key knowledge is not always prioritised
• Some pupils with SEND do not receive precise support to learn the same curriculum as their peers
• Personal development/SMSC delivery is variable, leaving pupils’ understanding patchy
• Published outcomes do not yet align with the quality of current provision

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 Shirebrook Academy attended 90.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.7% 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, 20.6% of pupils at Shirebrook Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 6 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 Shirebrook Academy had 15.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.0% 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, 21.7% of pupils at Shirebrook Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.6% 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 Shirebrook Academy received £9,536 and spent £9,860 for each of its 813 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £879,000 (£1,082 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Aston Community Education Trust, income was £7,762 and spending £7,726 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 Mansfield · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

Shirebrook Academy is part of Aston Community Education Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Langwith Bassett Primary Academy Mansfield
• Temple Normanton Primary Academy Chesterfield
• Springwood Primary Academy Sheffield
• Aston Academy Sheffield
• Aughton Primary Academy Sheffield
• Thurcroft Junior Academy Rotherham
• Lowedges Primary Academy Sheffield
• Waverley Primary Academy Rotherham
• Listerdale Primary Academy Rotherham
• Brookfield Primary Academy Mexborough

What is Shirebrook Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Shirebrook Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Shirebrook Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Shirebrook Academy was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Shirebrook Academy have?

Shirebrook Academy has 824 pupils on roll.

What age range does Shirebrook Academy cover?

Shirebrook Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Shirebrook Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 38.4, and 26% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Shirebrook Academy?

Shirebrook Academy is at Common Lane, Shirebrook, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG20 8QF.