Outwood Academy Haydock

Outwood Academy Haydock is a school where pupils are well cared for and behave well. This was its first section 5 inspection since it became part of Outwood Grange Academies Trust in 2022, and inspectors found strong mutual respect, high-quality pastoral support and high academic expectations. The curriculum has been strengthened and is ambitious and well ordered, pupils with SEND are well supported, and pupils benefit from a broad range of wider opportunities. Safeguarding is effective, and leadership, including trust and governor oversight, is strong. The main areas for improvement are in classroom practice and outcomes. Pupils have too few opportunities to discuss their learning and explain their reasoning, which limits how deeply they can think. In some subjects, teachers do not use assessment information well enough to check understanding before moving on, so misconceptions can go unaddressed. Published Year 11 outcomes still lag behind the current quality of education because of legacy weaknesses in the curriculum. Attendance also remains a priority: too many pupils do not attend regularly, although the school has taken vigorous action and rates have improved. Overall, the school is performing well and has a secure foundation for further improvement. Its caring culture, strengthened curriculum and effective leadership are notable strengths, while sharper assessment, better oracy opportunities and continued work on attendance are the key next steps.

Strengths

• Strong culture of mutual respect and high-quality pastoral support
• High expectations for academic achievement across the school
• Ambitious, logically ordered curriculum that builds on primary learning
• Subject-expert teachers and well-embedded curriculum routines
• Effective identification and support for pupils with SEND, including the specially resourced provision
• Pupils behave politely and courteously, with a consistent behaviour approach and a culture of praise
• Broad personal development offer including trips, workshops, community projects and productions
• Prioritised reading with effective support for pupils who struggle to read
• Careers programme that raises aspirations and prepares pupils for modern Britain
• Staff flourish under trust support, with workload reductions from marking policy changes
• Governors hold the school to account well
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Pupils take pride in their work and build secure knowledge over time

Areas for Improvement

• Limited opportunities for pupils to discuss learning and develop oracy, leaving some lacking confidence to explain their reasoning
• Some teachers do not use assessment information effectively to check understanding before moving on, so misconceptions can persist
• Published Year 11 outcomes lag behind the current quality of education because of legacy curriculum weaknesses
• Attendance remains a priority, with too many pupils still not attending school regularly

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 Outwood Academy Haydock attended 91.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 25.0% 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, 10.1% of pupils at Outwood Academy Haydock were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 8 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 Outwood Academy Haydock had 16.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.7% 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, 18.3% of pupils at Outwood Academy Haydock were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.6% 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 Outwood Academy Haydock received £9,259 and spent £8,761 for each of its 820 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,158,000 (£1,412 per pupil).

Across all 40 schools of Outwood Grange Academies Trust, income was £8,313 and spending £8,200 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 St. Helens · St. Helens local authority: places and applications

Outwood Academy Haydock is part of Outwood Grange Academies Trust, which runs 40 schools. The nearest others:

• Outwood Academy Hindley Wigan
• Outwood Primary Academy Kirkhamgate Wakefield
• Outwood Grange Academy Wakefield
• Outwood Primary Academy Ledger Lane Wakefield
• Outwood Primary Academy Littleworth Grange Barnsley
• Outwood Academy Carlton Barnsley
• Outwood Primary Academy Greenhill Wakefield
• Outwood Primary Academy Park Hill Wakefield
• Outwood Academy City Fields Wakefield
• Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate Wakefield

What is Outwood Academy Haydock's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Outwood Academy Haydock is Good, from an inspection in October 2024.

When was Outwood Academy Haydock last inspected by Ofsted?

Outwood Academy Haydock was last inspected in October 2024.

How many pupils does Outwood Academy Haydock have?

Outwood Academy Haydock has 791 pupils on roll.

What age range does Outwood Academy Haydock cover?

Outwood Academy Haydock for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Outwood Academy Haydock's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.9, and 44% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Outwood Academy Haydock?

Outwood Academy Haydock is at Clipsley Lane, Haydock, St. Helens, Merseyside, WA11 0JG.