Lord Derby Academy

Lord Derby Academy has shown significant improvement since its last inspection, moving from a previous rating of Requires Improvement to Good. The school is committed to providing a broad and ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of its students, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Students report feeling safe and well-supported, with staff responsive to their concerns and a strong emphasis on promoting positive behavior. However, while current students are achieving well, previous GCSE results were weak, attributed to historical curriculum weaknesses, indicating that continuous monitoring and support are necessary for sustained improvement.

Strengths

• Leaders have redesigned the curriculum to be broad and ambitious.
• Pupils feel happy, well cared for, and safe in school.
• Leaders deal with incidents of bullying swiftly and effectively.
• Leaders provide strong support for pupils with SEND.
• There is a strong focus on promoting positive behavior among pupils.
• Pupils engage in the school community and provide feedback through the pupil parliament.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils develop gaps in knowledge due to insufficient checks on retention of information.
• Older pupils struggling with reading have not received timely support.

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 Lord Derby Academy attended 90.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 23.9% 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, 2.6% of pupils at Lord Derby Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 Lord Derby Academy had 15.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.9% 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, 15.6% of pupils at Lord Derby Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.1% 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 Lord Derby Academy received £10,712 and spent £10,612 for each of its 1,080 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £936,000 (£867 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of The Dean Trust, income was £8,955 and spending £9,005 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 · Knowsley local authority: places and applications

Lord Derby Academy is part of The Dean Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Blacklow Brow School Liverpool
• Park View Academy Liverpool
• Dean Trust Wigan Wigan
• Dean Trust Rose Bridge Wigan
• Forest Gate Academy Manchester
• Broadoak School Manchester
• Partington Central Academy Manchester
• Ashton-on-Mersey School Sale
• Abraham Moss Community School Manchester
• Dean Trust Ardwick Manchester

What is Lord Derby Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lord Derby Academy is Good, from an inspection in September 2023.

When was Lord Derby Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Lord Derby Academy was last inspected in September 2023.

How many pupils does Lord Derby Academy have?

Lord Derby Academy has 1,076 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lord Derby Academy cover?

Lord Derby Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Lord Derby Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 34.3, and 18% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Lord Derby Academy?

Lord Derby Academy is at Seel Road, Huyton, Liverpool, Merseyside, L36 6DG.