Stanley High School

Stanley High School was inspected in April 2025 and was judged to require improvement in the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. Its previous inspection grade was good, and under current arrangements no overall effectiveness grade was awarded. The school has faced a prolonged period of challenge and tragedy, with high staff and pupil absence, parental mistrust, and published 2024 outcomes significantly below the national average. A new headteacher joined in September 2024 and the trust is now more consistently involved; leaders are beginning to turn things around, but oversight is not yet sharp enough in some areas. Pupils report feeling safe and cared for, and most behaviour around school is calm. Pupils value whole-school celebration events and have a growing sense of belonging. The curriculum is broad, ambitious and well ordered, with knowledge identified in most subjects, and the personal, social and health education curriculum is well designed. Safeguarding is effective, reading support is in place, and new behaviour systems have reduced staff workload. However, curriculum delivery is inconsistent, checks on pupils' learning are often ineffective, and teaching does not always match the curriculum's ambition. Some pupils with SEND do not have learning adapted well enough, some staff do not apply the behaviour policy consistently, and some pupils lack resilience and engagement. Careers provision is underdeveloped, so pupils are not fully prepared for their next steps, and leaders lack sufficiently robust oversight to prioritise and evaluate improvement at pace.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and know staff care for them.
• Pupils have a growing sense of belonging, supported by whole-school celebration events.
• Behaviour around school is typically calm and most pupils follow routines.
• The school provides effective support for pupils.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and well ordered.
• In most subjects, leaders have identified the knowledge pupils should learn.
• The personal, social and health education curriculum is well designed.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Reading support is in place and showing early signs of helping pupils read more fluently.
• New behaviour systems have reduced staff workload.
• A range of clubs and pupil responsibilities help build confidence.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent across subjects.
• Checking of pupils' understanding is not effective in many subjects.
• Teaching activities do not always match the ambition of the curriculum.
• Pupils with SEND do not consistently have their learning adapted to meet their needs.
• Some staff do not apply the behaviour policy consistently or uphold high expectations.
• Some pupils are not resilient, independent or engaged in their learning.
• Careers provision is underdeveloped, leaving pupils less prepared for future pathways.
• Leadership oversight is not robust enough to prioritise development and evaluate impact.
• Published outcomes in 2024 were significantly below the national average.
• Staff subject-specific pedagogical knowledge is still in its infancy.

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 Stanley High School attended 90.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.2% 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, 7.5% of pupils at Stanley High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Stanley High School had 16.8 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, 19.7% of pupils at Stanley High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.3% 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 Stanley High School received £8,269 and spent £8,330 for each of its 837 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £187,000 (£223 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of Southport Learning Trust, income was £7,959 and spending £8,218 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 Southport · Sefton local authority: places and applications

Stanley High School is part of Southport Learning Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Meols Cop High School Southport
• Kew Woods Primary School Southport
• Greenbank High School Southport
• Birkdale High School Southport
• Merefield School Southport
• Range High School Liverpool
• Maghull High School Liverpool
• Bedford Primary School Liverpool

What is Stanley High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Stanley High School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Stanley High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Stanley High School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Stanley High School have?

Stanley High School has 783 pupils on roll.

What age range does Stanley High School cover?

Stanley High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Stanley High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.8, and 34% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Stanley High School?

Stanley High School is at Fleetwood Road, Southport, Merseyside, PR9 9TF.