Lode Heath School

Lode Heath School has maintained effective standards since its previous inspection, showcasing a harmonious community driven by supportive relationships and high expectations for behaviour. The curriculum is ambitious, with a clear structure that promotes positive learning experiences for pupils. Special educational needs provisions are particularly strong, enabling those students to excel. However, some inconsistencies in curriculum implementation have been noted, which could hinder all pupils from achieving uniformly high standards across subjects. Additionally, there are ongoing challenges with the school's reading strategy, impacting some pupils' fluency and access to the curriculum.

Strengths

• Strong support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
• Positive relationships fostering a cohesive school community.
• High attendance rates and effective attendance monitoring.
• Ambitious curriculum design with clear progression of knowledge.
• Effective personal development and careers education initiatives.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in curriculum implementation leading to uneven learning outcomes.
• Some pupils require further support to achieve reading fluency.

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 Lode Heath School attended 91.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.9% 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, 7.7% of pupils at Lode Heath School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 5 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 Lode Heath School had 17.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.8% 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, 14.6% of pupils at Lode Heath School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.4% 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 2024–25 Lode Heath School received £7,434 and spent £7,225 for each of its 1,155 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,317,000 (£2,006 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Arden Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,403 and spending £7,340 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 Solihull · Solihull local authority: places and applications

Lode Heath School is part of Arden Multi Academy Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Coppice Academy Solihull
• Arden Solihull
• Dorridge Primary School Solihull
• Park Hall Academy Birmingham
• Henley In Arden School Henley-In-Arden

What is Lode Heath School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lode Heath School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Lode Heath School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lode Heath School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Lode Heath School have?

Lode Heath School has 1,096 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lode Heath School cover?

Lode Heath School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Lode Heath School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 46.7, and 39% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Lode Heath School?

Lode Heath School is at Lode Lane, Solihull, West Midlands, B91 2HW.