Kirk Hallam Community Academy

Kirk Hallam Community Academy is a caring, welcoming and improving school where most pupils enjoy learning and feel safe. Behaviour and attitudes and personal development are good: the school is calm and orderly, relationships are positive, pupils are respectful, attendance is improving and suspensions are reducing. Leaders have high expectations, a broad and ambitious curriculum and effective safeguarding, and staff report that leaders are considerate of workload and well-being; trust and governance provide appropriate support and challenge. However, the quality of education, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision require improvement. Teaching is not yet consistently good, and published outcomes at key stage 4 and in the sixth form are typically lower than expected. Some teachers do not check pupils' understanding carefully enough, so gaps and misconceptions are missed, and some do not adapt teaching or resources well for pupils with SEND. Pupils at the early stages of reading do not get enough support to improve fluency and accuracy. The school also needs to strengthen pupils' understanding of fundamental British values so they are better prepared for life in modern Britain. The report notes that leaders and governors know more remains to be done and are committed to improvement, with safeguarding judged effective.

Strengths

• Caring and welcoming school with positive staff-pupil relationships
• Pupils feel safe and are well supported
• Calm and orderly environment with respectful behaviour
• Most pupils behave well in lessons and at social times
• High expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND
• Broad and ambitious curriculum with detailed knowledge, skills and vocabulary
• Teachers generally have good subject knowledge and explain new topics clearly
• Clear behaviour routines through the Kirk Hallam way
• Effective support for pupils who need help with behaviour
• Attendance is improving and suspensions are reducing
• Well-thought-out personal development programme
• Good careers education and preparation for next steps, including sixth form
• Staff are proud to work at the school and feel leaders are considerate of workload and well-being
• Governance carries out statutory duties effectively and trust provides appropriate support and challenge
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Range of extra-curricular activities and pupil ambassador roles
• More opportunities to develop reading skills, including library lessons and vocabulary teaching

Areas for Improvement

• Quality of education requires improvement
• Teaching is not consistently good across the school
• Some teachers do not check pupils' understanding carefully enough
• Gaps in learning and misconceptions are not always identified or addressed
• Published outcomes at key stage 4 and in the sixth form are typically lower than expected
• Some teachers do not adapt teaching or resources effectively for pupils with SEND
• Some pupils with SEND do not learn as well as they should
• Pupils at the early stages of reading lack sufficient support to improve fluency and accuracy
• Pupils' understanding of fundamental British values is not developed well enough
• Some pupils are not as well prepared for life in modern Britain as they should be
• Leadership and management require improvement
• Sixth-form provision requires improvement

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 Kirk Hallam Community Academy attended 88.9% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 31.0% 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, 9.8% of pupils at Kirk Hallam Community Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 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 Kirk Hallam Community Academy had 14.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.6% 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, 22.7% of pupils at Kirk Hallam Community Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.1% 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 Kirk Hallam Community Academy received £10,160 and spent £10,174 for each of its 753 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £312,000 (-£415 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of Nova Education Trust, income was £7,436 and spending £7,228 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 Ilkeston · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

Kirk Hallam Community Academy is part of Nova Education Trust, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Firbeck Academy Nottingham
• Nottingham University Samworth Academy Nottingham
• Nottingham University Academy of Science and Technology Nottingham
• Nottingham Free School Nottingham
• Victoria Primary School Nottingham
• Westdale Junior School Nottingham
• Forest Town Primary School Mansfield
• Robert Miles Infant School Nottingham
• Toot Hill School Nottingham
• The Garibaldi School Mansfield

What is Kirk Hallam Community Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kirk Hallam Community Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Kirk Hallam Community Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Kirk Hallam Community Academy was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Kirk Hallam Community Academy have?

Kirk Hallam Community Academy has 709 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kirk Hallam Community Academy cover?

Kirk Hallam Community Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Kirk Hallam Community Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.6, and 40% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Kirk Hallam Community Academy?

Kirk Hallam Community Academy is at Godfrey Drive, Kirk Hallam, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 4HH.