Stanstead Flying High Academy

Stanstead Flying High Academy is judged to be at a strong standard overall, with the quality of education at expected standard. The early years provision is a notable strength, where children make a happy and confident start and achieve very well. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils feel safe, behave well and benefit from a positive school culture. The school is part of Flying High Trust and serves 208 pupils, with above-average free school meals eligibility.

Strengths

• Early years provision is strong, with children making a happy, confident start and achieving very well.
• Phonics and early mathematics teaching are effective, with clear language modelling and purposeful play.
• Pupils behave well in lessons and around school, following the school's values of being responsible, respectful and kind.
• Leaders have acted quickly to strengthen reading provision, and current reading shows improvement.
• The curriculum is broad and well-sequenced from Nursery to Year 6.
• Teachers adapt learning effectively for pupils with SEND, using communication supports and adapted texts.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils access the curriculum and make secure progress from their starting points.
• Leaders know the school well, have tackled weaker reading outcomes directly and use trust support to improve provision.
• Staff feel valued and supported, with a positive staff culture and good professional development opportunities.
• Governors understand their roles, carry out statutory duties and regularly check leaders' work.
• Personal development is rich, with clubs, trips, workshops and leadership roles for pupils.
• Attendance work has improved attendance over time, and current attendance is close to the national average.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where concerns are actively identified and managed.
• Year 4 pupils attain above national averages in the multiplication times tables check.

Areas for Improvement

• Published reading outcomes remain below national averages, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Some pupils, including higher-attaining pupils, do not deepen their knowledge as well as they could.
• Persistent absence is well above national average, and some disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND still miss too much school.
• Disadvantaged pupils' performance gaps in reading and combined measures are wide in the most recent published data.
• Leaders do not track closely enough the difference personal development experiences make.
• Some pupils with SEND still face barriers to regular attendance.
• Overall absence is above the national average.
• Recent improvements in reading need time to raise published achievement for all pupils.

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 Stanstead Flying High Academy attended 92.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 27.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

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, 0.5% of pupils at Stanstead Flying High Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 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 Stanstead Flying High Academy had 23.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

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, 13.3% of pupils at Stanstead Flying High Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

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 primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Stanstead Flying High Academy received £7,760 and spent £7,227 for each of its 203 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £220,000 (£1,087 per pupil).

Across all 35 schools of Flying High Trust, income was £7,225 and spending £7,388 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 Nottingham · Nottingham local authority: places and applications

Stanstead Flying High Academy is part of Flying High Trust, which runs 38 schools. The nearest others:

• Hawthorne Primary and Nursery School Nottingham
• Hucknall Flying High Academy Nottingham
• Horsendale Primary School Nottingham
• Hillside Primary and Nursery School Nottingham
• Ernehale Junior School Nottingham
• Ernehale Infant School Nottingham
• Killisick Junior School Nottingham
• Porchester Junior School Nottingham
• Blue Bell Hill Primary and Nursery School Nottingham
• Stanhope Primary and Nursery School Nottingham

What is Stanstead Flying High Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Stanstead Flying High Academy is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Stanstead Flying High Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Stanstead Flying High Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Stanstead Flying High Academy have?

Stanstead Flying High Academy has 203 pupils on roll.

What age range does Stanstead Flying High Academy cover?

Stanstead Flying High Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Stanstead Flying High Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Stanstead Flying High Academy?

Stanstead Flying High Academy is at Stanstead Avenue, Rise Park, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG5 5BL.