Finham Park School

Finham Park School is a large 11–18 academy converter in Coventry and part of Finham Park Multi-Academy Trust. This was its first routine inspection since 2015, delayed by its previous outstanding exemption and the COVID-19 pandemic, and under current arrangements it received no overall effectiveness grade. Inspectors found a highly inclusive, purposeful school where pupils feel safe and relationships are respectful; leadership, quality of education, behaviour and personal development were all judged good, while sixth-form provision was outstanding. The curriculum is highly ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND, and pupils achieve well overall. SEND support and reading interventions are effective, attendance is high, and pupils benefit from a broad personal development programme, strong careers guidance and a rich extra-curricular offer. Sixth-form students are exceptionally positive and achieve highly through challenging, independent learning and leadership or mentoring roles. Safeguarding is effective, and trust and governance oversight and staff development are strengths. There are still areas to refine. In a few subjects, some teachers do not check understanding well enough, adapt learning to misconceptions or give clear feedback, so some pupils have knowledge gaps or are unsure how to improve. The school’s high behaviour expectations are not applied consistently in a small number of lessons, where low-level disruption can affect progress and enjoyment. Some personal development lessons are also not delivered with enough depth or engagement.

Strengths

• Highly inclusive culture with warm, respectful relationships and high expectations for all pupils
• Highly ambitious curriculum across a broad subject range, including modern foreign languages such as Mandarin Chinese
• Effective SEND identification and support so pupils with SEND access the same ambitious curriculum
• Strong reading support, including specialist teaching to address phonics, grammar and comprehension weaknesses
• Outstanding sixth-form provision with challenging, independent learning and high achievement
• Rich personal development programme, strong careers guidance and extensive extra-curricular opportunities
• High attendance with robust systems to help absent pupils catch up
• Effective safeguarding arrangements and a positive safeguarding culture
• Strong trust and governance oversight, including safeguarding and sixth form
• Comprehensive professional development and attention to staff workload and well-being

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers do not check pupils’ understanding well enough or adapt learning to address misconceptions and missing knowledge
• Some pupils are unclear about how to improve because feedback is not consistently clear or useful
• Low-level disruption in a small number of lessons affects some pupils’ progress and enjoyment
• Behaviour routines are not applied consistently in all lessons despite high expectations
• Some personal development lessons are not presented effectively or discussed in sufficient depth, reducing engagement

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 Finham Park School attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 16.8% 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, 4.0% of pupils at Finham Park School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Finham Park School had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.3% 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, 20.1% of pupils at Finham Park School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.0% 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 Finham Park School received £7,267 and spent £7,343 for each of its 1,708 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,052,000 (£616 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of Finham Park Multi-Academy Trust, income was £7,796 and spending £7,758 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 Coventry · Coventry local authority: places and applications

Finham Park School is part of Finham Park Multi-Academy Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Finham Primary School Coventry
• Meadow Park School Coventry
• Finham Park 2 Coventry
• Limbrick Wood Primary School Coventry
• Lyng Hall School Coventry
• Pearl Hyde Community Primary School Coventry
• Lillington Primary School Leamington Spa

What is Finham Park School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Finham Park School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Finham Park School last inspected by Ofsted?

Finham Park School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Finham Park School have?

Finham Park School has 1,724 pupils on roll.

What age range does Finham Park School cover?

Finham Park School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Finham Park School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 50.7, and 56% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Finham Park School?

Finham Park School is at Green Lane, Coventry, West Midlands, CV3 6EA.