Halewood Academy

Halewood Academy is a larger-than-average secondary school in Knowsley and part of the Wade Deacon Trust. It has a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils and above-average proportions of pupils with SEND. Inspectors found the school performing at the expected standard overall, with safeguarding met. Leaders have improved the curriculum, teaching and behaviour since the last inspection, and pupils now typically learn an ambitious curriculum well in a calm, purposeful environment. Pupils feel safe, bullying is rare, and support for SEND and disadvantaged pupils is effective. The school's personal development, pastoral care and careers programme are strengths, and pupils benefit from a wide range of opportunities. Published outcomes at the end of key stage 4 are improving, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, and overall attendance is now in line with national averages. However, persistent absence remains above national levels, and too many pupils still do not attend regularly enough. In lessons, staff sometimes do not take enough account of pupils' starting points, which can limit how smoothly pupils move into independent work. Recent Progress 8 and destinations after 16 have also been below national averages, although there are signs of improvement. Leaders and governors know the school well and are using clear systems, trust support and targeted funding to drive further improvement. Staff feel well supported and proud to work at the school. The next steps are to ensure staff consistently build on pupils' starting points so that pupils can work independently and achieve well, and to continue reducing persistent absence so that all pupils can benefit from what the school offers.

Strengths

• Leaders have improved the curriculum, teaching and learning so pupils typically learn an ambitious curriculum well.
• Behaviour has improved and the school is calm and purposeful, with pupils behaving well in lessons and social time.
• Pupils feel safe, and bullying including online is rare and dealt with promptly.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils access the same ambitious curriculum and are well supported.
• Attendance is strategically tracked and supported, with overall rates now in line with national averages.
• Personal development is well designed, preparing pupils for life in modern Britain and healthy relationships.
• Careers education is comprehensive, with independent advice and work experience for all, including those facing barriers.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with clear systems, trust support and consideration for staff workload.
• Pupils benefit from strong pastoral support and a range of extra-curricular opportunities.
• Published results at the end of key stage 4 are improving, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Persistent absence remains too high, with too many pupils not attending school regularly enough.
• Staff do not consistently take sufficient account of pupils' starting points, which can hinder independent learning.
• Some pupils do not move on to independent learning activities as smoothly as they should.
• Recent Progress 8 and destinations after 16 have been below national averages, although improvement is evident.

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 Halewood Academy attended 90.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.2% 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, 12.5% of pupils at Halewood Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 Halewood Academy had 17.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.6% 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, 17.4% of pupils at Halewood Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.9% 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 Halewood Academy received £10,454 and spent £10,215 for each of its 1,147 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,013,000 (£883 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Wade Deacon Trust, income was £9,213 and spending £8,949 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 Knowsley · Knowsley local authority: places and applications

Halewood Academy is part of Wade Deacon Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Yew Tree Primary Academy Knowsley
• Sylvester Primary Academy Liverpool
• Whiston Willis Primary Academy Prescot
• Widnes Academy Widnes
• Wade Deacon High School Widnes
• Weston Point Primary Academy Runcorn
• Oakdene Primary Academy Prescot
• The Grange School Runcorn
• Hillside High School Bootle

What is Halewood Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Halewood Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Halewood Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Halewood Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Halewood Academy have?

Halewood Academy has 1,131 pupils on roll.

What age range does Halewood Academy cover?

Halewood Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Halewood Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.8, and 32% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Halewood Academy?

Halewood Academy is at The Avenue, Wood Road, Halewood, Knowsley, Merseyside, L26 1UU.