Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth

Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth is a caring, orderly school where pupils feel safe and are well supported, including through strong work with families. Behaviour has improved and is generally good: pupils mix well, bullying is reducing, and attendance has improved because leaders tackle barriers effectively. Pupils benefit from a broad personal development offer, including clubs, community activities and a well-planned careers programme. Safeguarding is effective. The school's main improvement priority is the quality of education. Leaders have broadened and raised ambition in the curriculum, including in the arts, and 2024 examination results improved, but recent changes are not yet fully embedded. Teaching is not consistently strong: the school's 'five pillars' approach is used unevenly, checks on understanding are inconsistent, and misconceptions are not always picked up. As a result, some pupils, including pupils with SEND, do not achieve as well as they should by the end of key stage 4. Reading support is better developed at key stage 3 than for older pupils, and some pupils lack the resilience and independent learning skills to stay focused. Leadership and management require improvement. Leaders are skilled, united and well supported by staff, and governance knows the school, though the local academy council needs a fuller understanding of the pupil premium strategy and funding. The trust context is Outwood Grange Academies Trust, and this was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic; inspectors took pandemic disruption into account. The school also has a small specially resourced provision for pupils with physical and medical needs and uses alternative provisions.

Strengths

• Pupils are well cared for and feel safe, with staff knowing them well and supporting families effectively.
• Behaviour is typically calm and orderly, and most pupils conduct themselves well.
• Bullying incidents are reducing and the school takes effective action to resolve issues.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, including music, drama, photography and sport.
• The curriculum has greater breadth and ambition, including newly introduced arts subjects.
• Examination results improved in 2024.
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and staff receive detailed information and strategies to help them access the curriculum.
• Key stage 3 pupils engage with high-quality books in regular 'immersive read' sessions.
• The behaviour policy is clear and used consistently, with regular rewards for pupils.
• Attendance has improved and fewer pupils are persistently absent because leaders tackle barriers effectively.
• The 'Life' programme and carefully planned careers programme develop pupils well beyond the academic curriculum.
• Staff feel well supported with workload and well-being and are proud to work at the school.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• The quality of education requires improvement because teaching is not consistently strong across subjects.
• The school's 'five pillars' teaching approach is used inconsistently.
• Teachers do not consistently check pupils' understanding or identify misconceptions.
• Some pupils, including pupils with SEND, do not achieve as well as they should by the end of key stage 4.
• Recent curriculum changes, including in some subjects and reading, are not fully embedded or evaluated thoroughly.
• Reading for pleasure is less developed for older pupils, and reading strategies are used with variation.
• Some pupils lack resilience and independent learning skills, leading to distractions in lessons.
• The local academy council should have a more thorough understanding of the pupil premium strategy and funding.

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 Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth attended 85.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 42.3% 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, 23.1% of pupils at Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 13 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 Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth had 14.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.1% 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, 21.7% of pupils at Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 8.1% 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 Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth received £9,611 and spent £10,107 for each of its 602 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £850,000 (£1,412 per pupil).

Across all 40 schools of Outwood Grange Academies Trust, income was £8,313 and spending £8,200 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 Stockton-On-Tees · Stockton-on-Tees local authority: places and applications

Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth is part of Outwood Grange Academies Trust, which runs 40 schools. The nearest others:

• Outwood Academy Acklam Middlesbrough
• Outwood Academy Riverside Middlesbrough
• Outwood Academy Ormesby Middlesbrough
• Outwood Academy Normanby Middlesbrough
• Outwood Academy Redcar Redcar
• Outwood Academy Bydales Redcar
• Outwood Academy Ripon Ripon
• Outwood Primary Academy Greystone Ripon
• Outwood Academy Easingwold York
• Outwood Primary Academy Alne York

What is Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth last inspected by Ofsted?

Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth have?

Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth has 580 pupils on roll.

What age range does Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth cover?

Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 30.7, and 21% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth?

Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth is at Harrowgate Lane, Bishopsgarth, Stockton-on-Tees, TS19 8TF.