Sandhill View Academy

Sandhill View Academy is a secondary school in the Aspire North East Multi Academy Trust serving a community with well above average levels of disadvantage and special educational needs support. This full inspection found safeguarding standards met and strong practice in inclusion and personal development. Leaders' vision that inclusion is 'built in, not bolted on' is realised, and vulnerable pupils, including those with SEND, are well supported and speak warmly about the school. The school is typically calm and happy, pupils feel safe, and behaviour systems are applied consistently. Personal development, enrichment, careers provision, leadership and governance are notable strengths, with staff well supported and leaders visible and ambitious. Pupils typically achieve well, but achievement is not yet consistent across all subjects, and reading curriculum changes need time to show full impact. Attendance remains below the national average and improvement has been uneven, although leaders are taking effective action and persistent absence is falling. Overall, the school is improving and provides strong care and inclusion, with attendance and reading as the main areas for further work.

Strengths

• Inclusion is embedded across school life, with tailored support for vulnerable pupils and those with SEND.
• Staff apply the 'Everyone, everywhere, every time' system consistently, reducing barriers to learning and wellbeing.
• Pupils, including the most vulnerable, are resilient, self-assured and positive about the support they receive.
• The personal development programme is impressive, rich and well matched to pupils' needs.
• Pupils develop a mature understanding of British values, health, relationships and online safety.
• Enrichment and leadership opportunities are extensive and almost all pupils take part.
• The careers programme is strong, with one-to-one guidance, work experience and employer engagement.
• The school is typically calm and happy; pupils feel safe, bullying is rare and behaviour systems are applied consistently.
• Leaders are visible, ambitious and act decisively, and governance provides effective challenge and support.
• Staff receive targeted training and feel supported in their workload and wellbeing.
• Safeguarding standards are met and there is an open culture of safeguarding.

Areas for Improvement

• Attendance remains below the national average and the improvement trend is uneven.
• Persistent absence is above national averages, although it is falling.
• The reading curriculum changes are not yet fully realised, so their impact on pupils' fluency and confidence is still to be seen.
• Achievement is not yet consistently strong across all subjects, particularly where historical attainment has been lower.

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 Sandhill View Academy attended 89.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.7% 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, 13.7% of pupils at Sandhill View Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Sandhill View Academy had 14.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.0% 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, 31.4% of pupils at Sandhill View Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.6% 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 Sandhill View Academy received £10,575 and spent £10,316 for each of its 763 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,232,000 (£2,925 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of Aspire North East Multi Academy Trust, income was £8,925 and spending £8,867 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 Sunderland · Sunderland local authority: places and applications

Sandhill View Academy is part of Aspire North East Multi Academy Trust, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• Southmoor Academy Sunderland

What is Sandhill View Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sandhill View Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in January 2026.

When was Sandhill View Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Sandhill View Academy was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does Sandhill View Academy have?

Sandhill View Academy has 743 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sandhill View Academy cover?

Sandhill View Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Sandhill View Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 41.1, and 48% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Sandhill View Academy?

Sandhill View Academy is at Grindon Lane, Thorney Close, Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, SR3 4EN.