Academy 360

Academy 360 is an all-through school in Sunderland and part of the Laidlaw Schools Trust. It serves a disadvantaged community, with free school meal eligibility and SEN support well above national averages, and includes a SEN unit for pupils with moderate and severe learning difficulties. Safeguarding standards are met. The early years provision is a clear strength: children benefit from an ambitious, personalised curriculum, skilled teaching, strong language and reading development, and effective sensory support through the Skylight provision. Primary pupils generally behave well, phonics and multiplication tables outcomes are in line with or above national averages, and KS2 outcomes improved markedly in 2025. However, most other areas need attention. Secondary pupils' basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics are not closing quickly enough, and GCSE English and mathematics attainment has been well below national averages over time. Attendance and persistent absence remain too high, behaviour is inconsistent in the secondary phase, teaching is uneven, and agreed SEND strategies are not consistently applied. Pupils' knowledge of fundamental British values and different cultures and world faiths is also not consistently secure. Leaders are focusing on the right priorities, and governance and trust support have improved following a turbulent period. Recent actions, including new SEND provisions and better training, show some early promise, but much of the work is in its early stages and impact is not yet fully realised. Overall, the school is stabilising and moving in the right direction, but significant work remains to secure consistent teaching, attendance, behaviour and outcomes.

Strengths

• Early years provision is strong, with an ambitious curriculum personalised to children's needs.
• Early years staff build meaningful partnerships with parents and carers.
• Teaching in the early years is consistently effective, including for children with SEND.
• The Skylight provision gives effective, tailored sensory support to pupils with SEND.
• Staff interactions are nurturing and focused on developing children's language and vocabulary.
• Early reading and phonics are taught consistently well, and children quickly secure phonics knowledge.
• Children in the early years settle quickly, follow routines and make secure progress.
• Pupils feel safe and trust adults to deal with incidents.
• Safeguarding standards are met and there is an open culture of safeguarding.
• Primary pupils generally behave well and take active roles in school life.
• Phonics screening and multiplication tables outcomes are consistently in line with or above national averages.
• KS2 outcomes improved markedly in 2025 and were close to average.
• Governance provides thorough challenge and support, and trustees acted appropriately after a turbulent period.
• Trust support and secondments are increasing leadership capacity and developing middle leaders.
• Leaders focus on the right priorities and are taking carefully considered steps towards sustainable improvement.
• High-quality training, particularly on inclusion, is beginning to have a positive impact.
• Staff, parents and carers are generally positive about recent changes, and staff value support with workload and wellbeing.
• Effective partnerships with the local authority and other professionals benefit pupils.
• Alternative provision is used appropriately when it is in pupils' best interests.
• The enrichment offer is wide and inclusive, with activities built into the secondary timetable.
• Primary outdoor play supports pupils' physical and social development.
• The careers programme ensures pupils are well informed about post-16 options.
• Pastoral support is effective.
• PSHE includes age-appropriate relationships, sex and health education and teaches pupils about protected characteristics.
• Some pupils are diligent and work hard, and many take on responsibilities such as mini police, eco leaders and running the bistro.

Areas for Improvement

• Secondary pupils' basic skills in reading, writing and mathematics are not closing quickly enough.
• GCSE English and mathematics attainment has been significantly below the national average over time.
• KS2 outcomes have been below the national average over time, despite improvement in 2025.
• Some pupils are not well prepared for their next steps in education, employment or training.
• Attendance is not improving quickly enough, and overall and persistent absence are above national averages.
• Behaviour is inconsistent in the secondary phase because some staff do not apply the behaviour policy consistently.
• Some pupils disrupt lessons or quietly disengage, and disengagement sometimes goes unchecked.
• Bullying sometimes happens, and some pupils experience unkindness from peers.
• Teaching is inconsistent, and teachers do not routinely check understanding or fill gaps in knowledge quickly.
• Some staff do not consistently use agreed strategies to support pupils with SEND, limiting their access to the curriculum and progress.
• New SEND provisions are too recent to show impact on behaviour and attendance.
• Not all staff have received or developed the expertise and training needed to meet pupils' needs consistently.
• Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes and attendance require more intensive work, and the GCSE disadvantaged gap is large.
• Pupils' PSHE knowledge is not consistently secure, including fundamental British values and different cultures and world faiths.
• Pupils are not as well prepared as they need to be for life in modern Britain.
• Many leadership changes are in their early stages, so impact is not yet realised beyond initial green shoots.
• Attendance and some pupils' achievement remain too low.

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 Academy 360 attended 88.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 37.8% 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, 19.6% of pupils at Academy 360 were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 9 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 Academy 360 had 14.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.2% 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, 24.6% of pupils at Academy 360 were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has a SEN unit with 4 pupils.

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 Academy 360 received £10,425 and spent £9,957 for each of its 876 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,918,000 (£3,331 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of The Laidlaw Schools Trust, income was £9,582 and spending £9,338 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 Sunderland · Sunderland local authority: places and applications

Academy 360 is part of The Laidlaw Schools Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• South Hylton Primary Academy Sunderland
• Oxclose Primary Academy Washington
• Oxclose Community Academy Washington
• Westgate Hill Primary Academy Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Atkinson Road Primary Academy Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Thomas Walling Primary Academy Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Excelsior Academy Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
• Sedgefield Hardwick Primary Academy Stockton-On-Tees
• Sedgefield Community College Stockton-On-Tees

What is Academy 360's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Academy 360 is Needs attention, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Academy 360 last inspected by Ofsted?

Academy 360 was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Academy 360 have?

Academy 360 has 854 pupils on roll.

What age range does Academy 360 cover?

Academy 360 for pupils aged 4 to 16.

What are Academy 360's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 29.1, and 15% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

What are Academy 360's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Academy 360?

Academy 360 is at Portsmouth Road, Sunderland, SR4 9BA.