Highfields Spencer Academy

Highfields Spencer Academy is a primary free school in the Spencer Academies Trust that opened in 2020 and has improved markedly since its previous inspection, when it was judged to require improvement. All five key judgements are now good. Pupils are described as happy and safe, relationships are respectful, and a strong pastoral offer supports families, while a broad extra-curricular and enrichment programme, including residential visits and educational trips, brings learning to life. The school's curriculum has been extensively overhauled and is ambitious, well sequenced and clearly specified, with staff presenting new content skilfully and checking understanding carefully. Reading is a priority and phonics is taught well, with struggling readers given extra practice to catch up. Early years provision gives children a nurturing start, pupils with SEND are supported precisely, behaviour is calm and purposeful, and attendance systems are notably effective. Personal development is carefully planned, safeguarding is effective, and leaders, governors and trustees share a clear vision, with a largely new staff team achieving tangible improvement quickly. The one clear area for development is that, in some subjects, the new curriculum does not sufficiently take account of what pupils have already learned, so content does not always build securely on prior understanding. The school is asked to continue refining sequencing so that pupils build progressively and remember and can do more over time.

Strengths

• Warm, caring ethos in which pupils feel happy, safe and respected
• Strong pastoral support, with valuable advice and specialist help for families
• Broad extra-curricular offer including netball, football, dance and karate
• Enrichment through residentials, camping and educational visits that build independence and teamwork
• Nurturing early years provision that develops children's confidence, curiosity and physical skills
• Effective phonics teaching, with targeted catch-up support so pupils achieve well in early reading
• Extensively overhauled, ambitious and logically sequenced curriculum with clearly specified knowledge
• Skilful teaching that explains new content in manageable chunks and checks understanding
• Precise and caring support for pupils with SEND, enabling them to access the curriculum and achieve well
• Consistent behaviour management and calm, purposeful classrooms
• Highly effective attendance systems that engage families and drive improvement
• Carefully constructed personal development programme covering safety, British values and relationships
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Strong governance and a cohesive new leadership team driving rapid improvement
• Good professional development and wellbeing support for staff

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, curriculum content does not sufficiently take account of pupils' prior knowledge and understanding
• Curriculum sequencing in some subjects does not yet build progressively enough for pupils to remember and do more over time

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 Highfields Spencer Academy attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.0% 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, 1.3% of pupils at Highfields Spencer 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 Highfields Spencer Academy had 22.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 12.4% of pupils at Highfields Spencer Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.7% 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 Highfields Spencer Academy received £6,607 and spent £6,747 for each of its 226 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £25,000 (-£111 per pupil).

Across all 27 schools of The Spencer Academies Trust, income was £7,619 and spending £7,638 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 Derby · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

Highfields Spencer Academy is part of The Spencer Academies Trust, which runs 27 schools. The nearest others:

• Derby Moor Spencer Academy Derby
• Brackensdale Spencer Academy Derby
• Ashwood Spencer Academy Derby
• John Port Spencer Academy Derby
• Castleward Spencer Academy Derby
• Wyndham Spencer Academy Derby
• Chellaston Fields Spencer Academy Chellaston
• The Mease Spencer Academy Hilton
• Hilton Spencer Academy Derby
• St Giles' Spencer Academy Derby

What is Highfields Spencer Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Highfields Spencer Academy is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Highfields Spencer Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Highfields Spencer Academy was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Highfields Spencer Academy have?

Highfields Spencer Academy has 258 pupils on roll.

What age range does Highfields Spencer Academy cover?

Highfields Spencer Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

Where is Highfields Spencer Academy?

Highfields Spencer Academy is at Tutbury Avenue, Littleover, Derby, Derbyshire, DE23 3UX.