The Valley Leadership Academy

The Valley Leadership Academy is a school that has undergone significant positive change since its previous inspection. Leaders have established a calm and purposeful environment, improved behaviour, and begun to develop a broad and ambitious curriculum. Pupils feel safe and happy, and relationships between staff and pupils are strong. The school's work to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils is a notable strength, with a range of strategies in place to help them overcome barriers to learning. However, significant challenges remain. Pupils' attainment by the end of Year 11 is below the national average, and progress measures are weak. Attendance rates are stubbornly low, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. The quality of teaching varies, and some teachers do not check pupils' understanding well enough or address gaps in learning swiftly. Older pupils continue to have gaps in their writing knowledge, which hinders their academic success.

Strengths

• Leaders have brought about much positive change, improving behaviour and beginning to raise achievement
• Leaders' commitment to supporting pupils with barriers to learning, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, is noteworthy
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious, and logically ordered to deepen knowledge over time
• Pupils feel safe and happy, and incidents of bullying, discrimination, and harassment are rare
• Leaders have established a calm atmosphere with clear expectations for behaviour
• The personal development programme is well designed and prepares pupils to be positive citizens
• Leaders work productively with external professionals and make effective use of alternative provision
• Staff appreciate the support they receive and leaders' consideration of their workload and wellbeing
• The trust and local governing body fulfil their statutory duties diligently and provide suitable challenge

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' attainment by the end of Year 11 is below the national average, including for disadvantaged pupils
• Pupils' progress by the end of Year 11 is below the national average, including for disadvantaged pupils
• Pupils' attendance rates remain stubbornly low, particularly for disadvantaged pupils
• The quality of teaching varies between classes and subjects, with some teachers not checking understanding well enough or addressing misconceptions swiftly
• Older pupils continue to have gaps in their learning, especially in writing fluently and accurately
• Some teachers move learning on too quickly before ensuring pupils' understanding is secure
• The work to close gaps in pupils' basic writing knowledge, such as spelling, grammar and punctuation, is at an earlier stage of development

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 The Valley Leadership Academy attended 84.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 45.1% 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, 12.4% of pupils at The Valley Leadership Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 6 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 The Valley Leadership Academy had 16.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.8% 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, 21.8% of pupils at The Valley Leadership Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.8% 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 The Valley Leadership Academy received £10,323 and spent £10,417 for each of its 589 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £1,272,000 (-£2,160 per pupil).

Across all 36 schools of Star Academies, income was £8,430 and spending £8,333 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 Bacup · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

The Valley Leadership Academy is part of Star Academies, which runs 36 schools. The nearest others:

• Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School Rossendale
• Oulder Hill Leadership Academy Rochdale
• Star Radcliffe Academy Radcliffe
• Tauheedul Islam Boys' High School Blackburn
• Eden Boys' School, Bolton Bolton
• The Olive School, Bolton Bolton
• Tauheedul Islam Girls' High School Blackburn
• The Olive School, Blackburn Blackburn
• The Olive School, Manchester Manchester
• Eden Girls' Leadership Academy, Manchester Manchester

What is The Valley Leadership Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Valley Leadership Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was The Valley Leadership Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Valley Leadership Academy was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does The Valley Leadership Academy have?

The Valley Leadership Academy has 578 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Valley Leadership Academy cover?

The Valley Leadership Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are The Valley Leadership Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 34.3, and 37% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Valley Leadership Academy?

The Valley Leadership Academy is at Fearns Moss, Bacup, Lancashire, OL13 0TG.