Childwall Sports & Science Academy

Childwall Sports & Science Academy is a larger-than-average secondary school in Liverpool, part of Lydiate Learning Trust, with a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEN support. Inspectors found safeguarding standards are met and that pupils feel safe, behave well, and attend regularly, despite many travelling from outside the catchment area. The school has a strongly inclusive culture, effective pastoral and careers support, and good staff morale. Most areas—attendance and behaviour, inclusion, leadership and governance, personal development and wellbeing, and post-16 provision—are judged at the expected standard. Leaders are praised for inclusive approaches, strong support for pupils with SEND, thoughtful use of alternative provision, and a wide range of enrichment opportunities. However, achievement and curriculum/teaching are identified as needing attention: Year 11 attainment is below average, disadvantaged pupils' progress lags, teaching is too variable, and some misconceptions are not addressed fully. The school also does not meet the government's minimum weekly hours expectation. Leaders are taking the right actions to improve teaching consistency and outcomes, but the impact is not yet fully realised. Next steps include sharpening checks on the disadvantaged strategy, continuing to raise attendance, and ensuring teaching consistently identifies and addresses gaps. Sixth form students generally achieve well in vocational and technical courses, though A-level outcomes are less positive and are being addressed.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture.
• Pupils feel safe, are happy, and behave well in lessons and social times.
• Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and respectful.
• Attendance support is effective, including for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• The school has an inclusive approach that ensures pupils with SEND access the same curriculum.
• Additional funding is used appropriately to support vulnerable pupils.
• Barriers to learning are identified quickly and timely support is put in place.
• The personal development programme is carefully designed and tailored to pupils' needs.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment activities, including music, Duke of Edinburgh, clubs, and overseas visits.
• Careers education is effective, with meaningful work experience and university visits.
• Staff morale is high and turnover has reduced considerably, with support for workload and wellbeing.
• Leaders and governors fulfil their statutory responsibilities and are outward-facing.
• Trust support strengthens governance and the school's continued improvement.
• Sixth form students have a strong sense of belonging and achieve well in vocational and technical qualifications.
• Pupils read regularly, which helps widen their vocabulary and improve fluency.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' attainment at the end of Year 11 is below average in many subjects.
• Progress 8 is below the national average, indicating underperformance.
• Disadvantaged pupils' progress and attainment lag significantly behind national averages.
• Teaching quality is too variable across the school.
• Some teachers do not check pupils' learning effectively enough to identify gaps.
• Pupils' misconceptions are not always addressed fully, hindering progress.
• The school does not meet the government's expectations for minimum weekly pupil hours.
• A-level outcomes in the sixth form are less positive than vocational results.
• Leaders' checks on the impact of support for disadvantaged pupils are not sharp enough.
• Attendance and persistent absence, while improving, remain above national averages.
• Rates of attendance need to continue rising further.

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 Childwall Sports & Science Academy attended 90.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.1% 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, 5.5% of pupils at Childwall Sports & Science Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 Childwall Sports & Science Academy had 16.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.7% 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, 22.4% of pupils at Childwall Sports & Science Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.7% 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 Childwall Sports & Science Academy received £9,160 and spent £8,647 for each of its 1,057 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,209,000 (£1,143 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of Lydiate Learning Trust, income was £8,720 and spending £8,725 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 Liverpool · Liverpool local authority: places and applications

Childwall Sports & Science Academy is part of Lydiate Learning Trust, which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

• Knotty Ash Primary School Liverpool
• The Grange Primary School Bootle
• Deyes High School Liverpool

What is Childwall Sports & Science Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Childwall Sports & Science Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Childwall Sports & Science Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Childwall Sports & Science Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Childwall Sports & Science Academy have?

Childwall Sports & Science Academy has 1,049 pupils on roll.

What age range does Childwall Sports & Science Academy cover?

Childwall Sports & Science Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Childwall Sports & Science Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 35.2, and 22% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Childwall Sports & Science Academy?

Childwall Sports & Science Academy is at Queen's Drive, Liverpool, Merseyside, L15 6XZ.