St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy

St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy is performing securely overall. Inspectors found a calm, respectful and inclusive school where pupils feel safe and valued, behaviour is strong, attendance is a clear priority, and personal development is well planned. Pupils benefit from a broad enrichment offer, meaningful leadership roles and effective careers education. Safeguarding standards are met. Academic achievement is more mixed. Pupils generally make secure progress, but attainment in English and mathematics has been below leaders' high expectations, and disadvantaged pupils still have notable gaps compared with their peers. The curriculum is broad and generally well sequenced, and teaching is typically effective, but adaptive teaching and expectations for handwriting are not consistent across subjects. Evaluation of some support packages is not robust enough to accelerate improvement. Leaders understand the school's strengths and areas for development, and governance and trust oversight are effective. Priorities now include embedding high-quality teaching more consistently, strengthening middle leadership and improving the evaluation of the school's work so that improvement is sustained across all areas.

Strengths

• Attendance is a priority, with strong attendance for pupils with SEND and persistent absence below the national average for this group.
• Behaviour is calm, respectful and consistently managed, and bullying is rare and dealt with swiftly.
• Pupils feel safe, valued and part of a welcoming, inclusive school community.
• The personal development programme is broad, well sequenced and develops pupils' knowledge of health, relationships and online safety.
• Wide enrichment opportunities, including trips and clubs, are made accessible to disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Pupils take meaningful leadership roles, including wellbeing ambassadors, sports captains and mentors for younger pupils.
• Careers education is well structured and pupils are well prepared for their next steps.
• The inclusive culture identifies SEND needs quickly, and well-trained support staff are deployed effectively.
• Reading is prioritised, with targeted support and a refurbished library.
• Governance and trust oversight are effective, providing robust challenge and support.
• Leaders generally manage staff workload and wellbeing effectively.
• Permanent exclusions have fallen significantly.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' attainment in English and mathematics has not matched leaders' high expectations, with 2024/25 GCSE grade 5 or above in English and maths below the national average.
• Disadvantaged pupils' attainment remains below that of their peers, including a large gap in English and maths GCSE.
• Teachers' adaptive teaching and expectations for handwriting are not consistent across subjects.
• Evaluation of some pupil support packages is not robust enough to accelerate improvement.
• Developing middle leadership and securing stability within the senior leadership team remain priorities.
• Leaders need greater consistency in evaluating some aspects of the school's work.

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 St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy attended 91.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 24.2% 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, 8.9% of pupils at St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary 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 St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy had 22.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.0% 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, 13.2% of pupils at St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.2% 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 St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy received £8,451 and spent £7,777 for each of its 572 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £661,000 (-£1,156 per pupil).

Across all 25 schools of St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,472 and spending £7,889 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 Glossop · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy is part of St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which runs 25 schools. The nearest others:

• St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy Glossop
• All Saints' Catholic Voluntary Academy Glossop
• St Margaret's Catholic Voluntary Academy Glossop
• St Charles' Catholic Voluntary Academy Glossop
• St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy Stockport
• St Mary's Catholic Voluntary Academy High Peak
• St Anne's Catholic Voluntary Academy Buxton
• St Thomas More Catholic Voluntary Academy Buxton
• St Joseph's Catholic Voluntary Academy Matlock
• Christ the King Catholic Voluntary Academy Alfreton

What is St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in February 2026.

When was St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy was last inspected in February 2026.

How many pupils does St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy have?

St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy has 577 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy cover?

St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 49.2, and 48% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy?

St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy is at Sunlaws Street, Glossop, Derbyshire, SK13 8DR.