Noel-Baker Academy

Noel-Baker Academy is a large secondary school in a relatively deprived area, with a high proportion of disadvantaged pupils and above-average levels of SEN support. This was a full section 5 inspection, not a first inspection. The school is part of L.E.A.D Multi-Academy Trust and has experienced significant leadership changes since the last inspection, including a new headteacher appointed in September 2025. Safeguarding standards are met. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and priorities, and improvements are beginning to take hold in behaviour, teaching, attendance and outcomes, although some provision remains at an early stage of development. There are notable strengths in inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Pupils are well known as individuals, and leaders identify barriers to learning and wellbeing quickly. Support for pupils with SEND is increasingly precise, disadvantaged pupils benefit from reading and tutoring support, and pastoral care is a significant strength. The school is now calm and orderly, pupils feel safe, behaviour has improved considerably, and the personal development, careers and enrichment offers are strong. Governors provide appropriate challenge and support, staff wellbeing is considered, and engagement with families and external agencies is improving. However, achievement, attendance and behaviour, and curriculum and teaching still require attention. Examination results and pupils’ progress remain below national averages, and outcomes vary across subjects and pupil groups. Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment is variable, and pupils with SEND do not always progress consistently because teaching is not yet uniformly effective. Attendance is below where it should be, persistent absence is high, and some pupils are not as well prepared for their next steps as they could be. Leaders are acting with urgency and early signs of improvement are evident, but the impact on outcomes is not yet fully realised.

Strengths

• Inclusive culture where pupils are well known as individuals and barriers to learning are identified swiftly.
• Strong support for pupils with SEND, including accurate EHC plans and precise targets.
• Disadvantaged pupils benefit from reading support and bespoke tutoring that close gaps.
• Effective support for pupils known to social care, with regular review and refinement.
• Appropriate use of alternative provision matched to individual needs.
• Decisive leadership changes have reset expectations and strengthened systems.
• Governors meet statutory duties and provide appropriate challenge and support.
• Staff wellbeing and workload are considered, with purposeful professional learning.
• Comprehensive personal development curriculum covering relationships, mental health, safety and life skills.
• Well-established pupil leadership through school council and pupil parliament.
• Inclusive enrichment and trips that broaden horizons and track participation.
• Pastoral care is a significant strength, with pupils feeling safe and supported.
• Well-established careers education contributing to increased progression to education, employment or training.
• Behaviour culture reset: school is calm and orderly, disruption uncommon.
• Reading routines, targeted support and vocabulary focus help access curriculum.
• Bullying, discrimination and aggression are dealt with swiftly and managed well.

Areas for Improvement

• Examination results remain below national averages.
• Pupils’ overall progress is not yet in line with peers nationally.
• Outcomes vary across subjects and pupil groups.
• Attainment of disadvantaged pupils remains variable and gaps are not closing consistently.
• Pupils with SEND receive helpful support but progress varies because teaching is inconsistent.
• Teaching is not yet consistently effective, so achievement does not always match curriculum ambition.
• Teachers do not always adapt approaches or resources to meet pupils’ needs.
• Assessment checks are sometimes imprecise, so gaps and misconceptions are not identified early enough.
• Attendance remains below where it should be, and too many pupils miss valuable learning.
• Persistent absence is above national average.
• Gaps in numeracy foundations are recognised and support is still being developed.
• Some pupils are not as well prepared for their next stage as they could be.
• Middle leaders, particularly those new in post, need further development to drive improvement confidently.
• Agreed catch-up approaches after absence are not used consistently well.

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 Noel-Baker Academy attended 88.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 33.3% 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, 13.2% of pupils at Noel-Baker Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 5 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 Noel-Baker Academy had 16.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 31.4% 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, 15.7% of pupils at Noel-Baker Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.0% 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 Noel-Baker Academy received £8,511 and spent £9,209 for each of its 1,245 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £434,000 (£349 per pupil).

Across all 27 schools of L.E.A.D. Academy Trust, income was £8,020 and spending £8,028 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 Derby · Derby local authority: places and applications

Noel-Baker Academy is part of L.E.A.D. Academy Trust, which runs 27 schools. The nearest others:

• Da Vinci Academy Derby
• Cloudside Academy Nottingham
• The Glapton Academy Nottingham
• Jubilee L.E.A.D. Academy Nottingham
• Edna G. Olds Academy Nottingham
• Radford Primary School Academy Nottingham
• Huntingdon Academy Nottingham
• Sycamore Academy Nottingham
• St Ann's Well Academy Nottingham
• Windmill L.E.A.D. Academy Nottingham

What is Noel-Baker Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Noel-Baker Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Noel-Baker Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Noel-Baker Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Noel-Baker Academy have?

Noel-Baker Academy has 1,230 pupils on roll.

What age range does Noel-Baker Academy cover?

Noel-Baker Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Noel-Baker Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 35.2, and 28% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Noel-Baker Academy?

Noel-Baker Academy is at Bracknell Drive, Alvaston, Derby, Derbyshire, DE24 0BR.