Lift Firth Park

Firth Park Academy is a large secondary academy in the Lift Schools multi-academy trust that inspectors found to require improvement in all four key judgements, having previously been judged good. A new principal joined in February 2025 and leaders, with trust support, have begun significant changes. Pupils are starting to benefit from higher expectations and a more ambitious curriculum, but improvements are at an early stage and pupils have not yet achieved well in external examinations. Strengths include a more ambitious curriculum, accurate identification of SEND and generally thoughtful adaptations, effective reading support, improving behaviour and calmer lessons, effective safeguarding, and useful careers and work-experience provision. Pupils value PSHE and most feel safe. However, curriculum implementation remains inconsistent, pupils are not always given enough time to apply learning, and some activities do not help them recall and embed knowledge. Attendance is too low for too many pupils, especially the most vulnerable, and suspensions remain high. Pupils' understanding of protected characteristics and diversity is not deep enough, and unkind language occurs too often. Leaders and governors provide challenge and support, but recent improvements need time to embed and impact remains variable.

Strengths

• A more ambitious curriculum has been introduced across the school.
• Pupils with SEND are accurately identified and generally well supported to access the same curriculum as their peers.
• Reading is a strength: pupils encounter ambitious vocabulary and early readers receive swift support.
• Behaviour expectations have been raised and lessons are increasingly calm.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Careers education and work experience help older pupils develop aspirations and move on to positive next steps.
• Personal, social and health education is valued by pupils and covers important safety topics.
• Most pupils feel safe and know they have a trusted adult to speak to.
• Governance provides a high level of challenge and support.
• Pupils enjoy culture day and cultural dress, helping raise awareness of difference.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils have not achieved well in external examinations over time.
• Expectations of what pupils should achieve have not been high enough.
• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent, and activities do not consistently help pupils recall and embed knowledge.
• Pupils are often not given enough time to apply their learning.
• Behaviour standards have not been high enough, and suspension rates remain high.
• Attendance is too low for too many pupils, particularly the most vulnerable.
• Strategies to improve attendance are not reaching some pupils well enough.
• Pupils' understanding of protected characteristics is not developed in sufficient depth.
• Unkind language occurs too often, and pupils lack vocabulary to discuss difference appropriately.
• Recent improvements are at an early stage and there is variance in pupils' experiences.

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 Lift Firth Park attended 86.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 36.6% 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, 23.3% of pupils at Lift Firth Park were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 7 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 Lift Firth Park had 15.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.2% 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, 16.1% of pupils at Lift Firth Park were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.5% 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 Lift Firth Park received £9,341 and spent £9,083 for each of its 1,171 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £940,000 (£803 per pupil).

Across all 59 schools of Lift Schools, income was £8,746 and spending £8,644 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 Sheffield · Sheffield local authority: places and applications

Lift Firth Park is part of Lift Schools, which runs 62 schools. The nearest others:

• Lift St Helen's Barnsley
• Lift Shafton Barnsley
• Lift Meadstead Barnsley
• Lift Cottingley Leeds
• Lift Feversham Bradford
• Lift Anglesey Burton-On-Trent
• Lift Beacon Loughborough
• Lift Newington Hull
• Lift Hall Road Hull
• Lift Green Way Hull

What is Lift Firth Park's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lift Firth Park is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Lift Firth Park last inspected by Ofsted?

Lift Firth Park was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Lift Firth Park have?

Lift Firth Park has 1,115 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lift Firth Park cover?

Lift Firth Park for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Lift Firth Park's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 36.7, and 35% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Lift Firth Park?

Lift Firth Park is at Fircroft Avenue, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S5 0SD.