LIPA School

LIPA School is failing to provide an acceptable standard of education and has been placed in special measures after an urgent, no-notice inspection prompted by complaints. Inspectors found serious weaknesses across all areas: curriculum ambition and delivery, behaviour, personal development, leadership and early years. Pupils' experiences are unsettled by high levels of temporary staff, industrial action and leadership turbulence; some do not feel safe, and attendance and persistent absence remain high, especially for secondary-age pupils. The trust has not stabilised leadership or staffing, and governance roles lack clarity; there was no CEO in post and several senior leaders were absent. The curriculum often lacks ambition, staff do not check or address gaps in knowledge well, pupils with SEND are not supported effectively, and reading and phonics are not secure for younger pupils. Behaviour systems are inconsistent, lessons are disrupted, and personal development is not coherent, with discriminatory language and inadequate preparation for life in modern Britain. Safeguarding arrangements are not effective, particularly follow-up when pupils are absent and supervision of some premises and play equipment. There are some positives: a few curriculums are well thought through, older pupils use class libraries to build reading confidence, some recent attendance and behaviour changes are showing pockets of success, and pupils have high aspirations, especially in creative and performing arts. However, these are limited and current pupils are not yet benefiting from recent changes. The school must urgently stabilise staffing and leadership, improve safeguarding and attendance, strengthen curriculum and SEND provision, and establish consistent behaviour and personal development.

Strengths

• Some curriculums are well thought out.
• Children in the early years get a prompt start in learning phonics.
• Older pupils choose books from class libraries to read for pleasure, building reading confidence.
• Pupils have high aspirations, particularly for creative and performing arts subjects.
• Some pupils have benefited from working with the same teachers over time.
• Recent changes to the behaviour policy are having success in some pockets of the school.
• There have been some recent improvements in overall attendance levels.
• When concerns are raised by pupils or staff, they are followed up appropriately.
• There are some opportunities for pupils to engage in activities and support the community.

Areas for Improvement

• Leadership capacity is stretched too thinly, leaving gaps in oversight and decision-making.
• The trust has been too slow to respond to concerns about leadership and staffing capacity.
• Governance roles and responsibilities lack clarity, and the trust has not held the school to account.
• There is no CEO in post to provide strategic leadership and direction.
• High staff absence, temporary staffing and industrial action have disrupted pupils' education.
• The quality of education has declined since the previous inspection.
• Many curriculums lack ambition and are not delivered effectively.
• Staff do not use effective approaches to check what pupils know and remember.
• Pupils' gaps in knowledge are not addressed before new learning is introduced.
• Staff lack the expertise to support pupils with SEND effectively.
• Pupils with SEND do not receive the support they need and do not achieve well.
• Early years and key stage 1 pupils do not learn to read as quickly as they should.
• Children in the early years do not build the foundations they need for Year 1.
• Behaviour systems are ineffective and sanctions are not applied consistently.
• Lessons in the secondary school are disrupted by pupils who are not engaged.
• Pupils' absence and persistent absence rates remain high, particularly in the secondary phase.
• Attendance follow-up is too slow, putting vulnerable pupils at risk of harm.
• Safeguarding arrangements are not effective.
• Some staff do not report concerns as they should.
• Some pupils lack confidence in staff's actions and choose not to share their worries.
• Supervision of some school premises and early years play equipment is insufficient.
• The personal development programme is incoherent and not valued by many pupils.
• Groups of pupils persistently use derogatory and discriminatory language.
• Personal development is not shaped well enough to respond to local contextual risks.
• Pupils are not prepared well for life in modern Britain.
• Careers advice and guidance, including apprenticeship and technical education encounters, are inadequate.
• The school does not meet the requirements of the provider access legislation.
• Opportunities for pupils to take on responsibilities are limited.
• Only a small number of pupils take up the wider activities on offer.
• Staff workload is becoming unmanageable and morale is low.
• HMCI strongly recommends that the school does not seek to appoint early career teachers.

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 LIPA School attended 88.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 35.8% 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, 12.6% of pupils at LIPA School 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 LIPA School had 13.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.1% 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, 17.0% of pupils at LIPA School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 7.8% 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 LIPA School received £9,072 and spent £8,646 for each of its 593 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £264,000 (-£445 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of The Lipa Multi Academy Trust, income was £8,600 and spending £8,170 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

LIPA School is part of The Lipa Multi Academy Trust, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• LIPA Sixth Form College Liverpool

What is LIPA School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for LIPA School is Inadequate, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was LIPA School last inspected by Ofsted?

LIPA School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does LIPA School have?

LIPA School has 499 pupils on roll.

What age range does LIPA School cover?

LIPA School for pupils aged 4 to 16.

What are LIPA School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 38.0, and 25% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

What are LIPA School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 40% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is LIPA School?

LIPA School is at Upper Duke Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, L1 7BT.