Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School

Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School has been judged to require special measures after this full inspection. Inspectors found that it is not providing an acceptable standard of education and that school and trust leaders, together with those responsible for governance, do not have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement. Safeguarding standards are met, but overall standards have declined since the previous inspection. The sixth form is the clear exception: students benefit from an ambitious, well-planned curriculum, typically effective teaching, strong pastoral and careers support, and they achieve well and are prepared for their next steps. In the main school, the picture is much weaker. Many pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, are not developing the essential knowledge they need in reading, writing and number. SEND needs are not identified accurately or swiftly enough, support in the learning resource centre is inconsistent, and teaching is often not adapted to help these pupils access the curriculum. Reading support is missing or ineffective for too many. Behaviour and attendance are serious concerns: lessons are disrupted, many pupils truant, unstructured times can be boisterous and unsafe, discriminatory language often goes unchallenged, and absence and persistent absence remain well above national averages. Leaders' actions on behaviour and attendance have not been effective because their understanding of the problems is not accurate enough. The school is a larger-than-average Roman Catholic secondary in the St Teresa of Calcutta Multi-Academy Company, with a well-above-average proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and above-average location deprivation. The personal development programme is appropriate in places but has limited impact on pupils' understanding of fundamental British values, equality and right from wrong, and participation in extracurricular activities is limited. Governance does not hold leaders to account well, trust leaders have been too slow to act, staff do not feel well led or supported, and parents have significant concerns about SEND support and behaviour. Inspectors set clear next steps focused on SEND identification, attendance and truancy, behaviour expectations, early reading, checking understanding, foundational knowledge, personal development, and stronger governance and accountability.

Strengths

• Sixth-form provision is well planned and ambitious, meeting students' needs and aspirations.
• Sixth-form teaching is typically effective, with clear explanations and good checks on understanding.
• Sixth-form students, including those with SEND, progress well and achieve well from their starting points.
• Sixth-form students receive strong pastoral support and effective careers advice, preparing them well for life beyond school.
• Sixth-form students have positive attitudes and take on leadership roles such as wellbeing and sports leaders.
• Students say everyone is accepted in the sixth form and appreciate the respect and pastoral care they receive.
• A well-sequenced, logically planned curriculum is in place across subjects and key stages.
• Teachers have the subject knowledge needed to deliver the curriculum effectively.
• Published key stage 4 outcomes are broadly in line with national averages across a range of subjects.
• The personal development programme covers online safety, community risks, healthy lifestyles, relationships and different religions and cultures.
• The careers programme supports pupils to make informed choices about education, training or employment.
• Disadvantaged pupils' additional funding is typically used well to support their learning.
• Pupils with emotionally based school avoidance are supported to re-engage with school.
• Alternative provision is used well and in pupils' best interests.
• Some pupils participate in extracurricular activities, including completing the Duke of Edinburgh bronze award.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and concerns actively identified and managed.

Areas for Improvement

• The school requires special measures because it is failing to provide an acceptable standard of education.
• Leaders and those responsible for governance lack the capacity to secure necessary improvement.
• Many pupils are not developing the essential knowledge they need in reading, writing and number facts.
• Pupils with SEND are not accurately or swiftly identified, and many do not receive the support they need.
• Teaching is not consistently adapted to help pupils with SEND access the curriculum.
• The support pupils with SEND receive in the learning resource centre is ineffective and incoherently planned.
• Too many pupils who need extra reading support receive none, and support for others is not always effective.
• Teachers do not routinely check pupils' understanding, so gaps in learning and misconceptions persist.
• The curriculum is not taught well across too many subjects and year groups.
• Pupils' work often shows a lack of depth of understanding, and some pupils struggle to write legibly and accurately.
• Behaviour is not good enough: lessons are disrupted, too many pupils truant, and unstructured times are boisterous and unruly.
• Some pupils experience racist and sexist language, which often goes unchallenged.
• Some pupils feel unsafe, and a significant number of staff do not feel well supported to manage behaviour.
• Attendance remains too high for overall absence and persistent absence, and leaders lack clarity on causes and effective actions.
• Personal development has limited impact on pupils' understanding of fundamental British values, equality and right from wrong.
• Pastoral support is sometimes ineffective in helping pupils build resilience and deal with emotional issues.
• Many pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, do not take part in extracurricular activities or know what is offered.
• Governance does not hold leaders to account effectively and lacks an accurate understanding of the school's problems.
• Trust leaders have been too slow to address problems in the school.
• Many staff do not feel the school is well led or managed, and professional learning has not improved teaching quality.
• Parents have significant concerns about support for pupils with SEND and poor behaviour.
• Leaders have not addressed issues from the previous inspection, including reading support and internal truancy.
• HMCI recommends that the school does not seek to appoint early career teachers.

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 Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School attended 88.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 34.8% 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, 11.6% of pupils at Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School had 14.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.6% 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, 17.0% of pupils at Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.0% 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 Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School received £8,807 and spent £8,838 for each of its 1,167 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £247,000 (£212 per pupil).

Across all 6 schools of St Teresa of Calcutta Multi Academy Company, income was £8,553 and spending £8,717 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 Birmingham · Birmingham local authority: places and applications

Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School is part of St Teresa of Calcutta Multi Academy Company, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Holy Souls Catholic Primary School Birmingham
• St Ambrose Barlow Catholic Primary School Birmingham
• Holy Trinity Catholic School Birmingham
• The Rosary Catholic Primary School Birmingham
• St Vincent's Catholic Primary School Birmingham
• St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Birmingham
• St Chad's Catholic Primary School Birmingham
• St Francis Catholic Primary School Birmingham
• St Clare's Catholic Primary School Birmingham
• St Teresa's Catholic Primary School Birmingham

What is Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School last inspected by Ofsted?

Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School have?

Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School has 1,152 pupils on roll.

What age range does Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School cover?

Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 41.9, and 36% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School?

Archbishop Ilsley Catholic School is at Victoria Road, Acocks Green, Birmingham, West Midlands, B27 7XY.