Academy@Worden

Academy@Worden is a secondary comprehensive school that was judged good in all four key areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the school has a new headteacher since the previous inspection. Pupils are proud of their school, treat each other with kindness and respect, feel safe, and benefit from a calm and orderly environment where high expectations are understood. The school has a broad and ambitious curriculum that is well ordered, and teachers generally deliver it clearly and check pupils’ learning effectively. Published 2024 outcomes improved by the end of Year 11, reading support has been strengthened, and more pupils are studying the English Baccalaureate. Pupils with SEND are included well in school life and supported through a range of strategies, although a small number of pupils’ needs are not identified early enough. Attendance systems are highly effective, especially for disadvantaged pupils, and personal development and preparation for the next stage are strong. Trustees share the school’s ambitious vision and provide support and challenge, while staff value professional development and consideration of workload and well-being. Safeguarding is effective. The main areas for improvement are identifying some SEND needs earlier, using gathered information more systematically to target actions, and ensuring disadvantaged pupils can take full advantage of the school’s wider offer.

Strengths

• Pupils are proud of their school and treat each other with kindness and respect.
• Pupils feel safe and believe the school listens to their concerns.
• Lessons and social times have a calm and orderly atmosphere.
• Pupils respond well to high behavioural expectations, so learning is uninterrupted.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and sensibly ordered.
• Teachers use secure subject knowledge and check pupils’ learning effectively.
• Published 2024 outcomes show improved achievement by the end of Year 11.
• Reading support is comprehensive across all stages, and the library encourages a love of reading.
• The proportion of pupils studying the English Baccalaureate has increased.
• Pupils with SEND are fully included in the life of the school and supported through a range of strategies.
• Highly effective systems ensure consistently high attendance, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• The personal, social, health and economic education curriculum is thoughtfully designed.
• Pupils are prepared well for the next stage of education, employment or training.
• Pupils contribute to the school community through peer reading and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
• Trustees share the school’s ambitious vision and offer appropriate support and challenge.
• Staff value professional development and the school’s consideration of workload and well-being.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• A small number of pupils with SEND do not have their additional needs identified early enough, so support is not always timely.
• The school does not systematically use the information it gathers to improve some aspects of provision, so actions sometimes miss the areas of greatest impact.
• Leaders do not always ensure disadvantaged pupils take full advantage of the school’s rich extra-curricular offer.

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 Academy@Worden attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 17.7% 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, 4.5% of pupils at Academy@Worden were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 9 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 Academy@Worden had 17.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.1% 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, 11.5% of pupils at Academy@Worden were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.5% 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 Academy@Worden received £7,735 and spent £7,930 for each of its 618 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £647,000 (£1,047 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 Leyland · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Academy@Worden's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Academy@Worden is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Academy@Worden last inspected by Ofsted?

Academy@Worden was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Academy@Worden have?

Academy@Worden has 660 pupils on roll.

What age range does Academy@Worden cover?

Academy@Worden for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Academy@Worden's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.4, and 31% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Academy@Worden?

Academy@Worden is at Redwood Avenue, Leyland, Lancashire, PR25 1RN.