The Featherstone Academy

The Featherstone Academy is a 524-pupil secondary school in the Resilience Multi Academy Trust, serving a disadvantaged area with above-average proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and pupils with SEND, including a resourced provision for communication and language needs. Inspectors found most aspects of the school secure: pupils typically achieve well, follow a broad and well-sequenced curriculum, and are well supported to access lessons and wider opportunities. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils say they feel safe and respected. Strengths include effective teaching, strong inclusion work, thoughtful personal development and careers provision, and leadership and governance that are well supported by the trust. Pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment, and disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND are generally included well. However, attendance has declined and is below the national average, with vulnerable pupils and some with SEND particularly affected. Behaviour is usually good, but a small minority do not get help quickly enough and lose significant lesson time through repeated consequences. Teachers also do not consistently adapt the curriculum for pupils with the most complex SEND. Leaders know the school's priorities and have plans in place, but they need to ensure the revised attendance approach has a swift impact, make curriculum adaptation consistently effective for all pupils, and improve oversight of behaviour support. Overall, the school is performing securely in most areas but has clear work to do on attendance and behaviour for a minority.

Strengths

• Broad, well-sequenced curriculum that helps pupils build knowledge over time
• Staff have secure subject knowledge and generally teach effectively
• Gaps in pupils' basic reading and mathematics skills are identified quickly and supported effectively
• Leaders are committed to inclusion and identify additional needs early
• Pupils with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and those known to social care are supported to take part in lessons, trips and clubs
• Disadvantaged pupil funding is used thoughtfully to improve attendance and attainment
• Leadership and governance are effective, with strong trust support and quality assurance
• Professional development is closely linked to school priorities and valued by staff
• Thoughtful personal development programme covers tolerance, democracy, healthy relationships, safety and wellbeing
• Wide range of key stage 3 enrichment activities and accessible after-school clubs and trips
• Well-structured careers education with independent advice and tailored support for pupils with SEND
• Pupils generally behave well, treat each other respectfully and lessons are usually calm
• Suspensions have reduced over time
• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe and supported
• Pupils leave well prepared for their next steps, with destinations reflecting their abilities and aspirations

Areas for Improvement

• Overall attendance has declined and is below the national average
• Attendance interventions are not yet having sufficient impact, especially for vulnerable pupils and pupils with SEND who are severely absent
• A small minority of pupils do not receive help to improve behaviour quickly enough, leading to repeated consequences and lost lesson time
• Teachers' adaptations for pupils with the most complex SEND are not consistently effective, so some cannot always access the same curriculum
• Leaders need better oversight and analysis of the impact of behaviour work and support for pupils who need more help to behave appropriately

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 The Featherstone Academy attended 90.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 24.0% 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, 22.9% of pupils at The Featherstone 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 The Featherstone Academy had 17.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 21.6% of pupils at The Featherstone Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 10.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 18 pupils.

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 The Featherstone Academy received £8,842 and spent £8,805 for each of its 525 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £746,000 (-£1,421 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of Resilience Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,591 and spending £7,510 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 Pontefract · Wakefield local authority: places and applications

The Featherstone Academy is part of Resilience Multi Academy Trust, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Rodillian Academy Wakefield
• University Technical College Leeds Leeds
• Churwell Primary Academy Leeds
• Brayton Academy Selby
• BBG Academy Birkenshaw

What is The Featherstone Academy's Ofsted rating?

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

When was The Featherstone Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Featherstone Academy was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does The Featherstone Academy have?

The Featherstone Academy has 556 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Featherstone Academy cover?

The Featherstone Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are The Featherstone Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.7, and 39% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Featherstone Academy?

The Featherstone Academy is at Pontefract Road, Featherstone, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, WF7 5AJ.