Outwood Academy Hindley

Outwood Academy Hindley is performing well overall. Inspectors found a caring, welcoming school where pupils feel happy and safe, lessons are calm and purposeful, and most pupils respond well to high expectations. The curriculum is ambitious and logically sequenced from Year 7 to Year 11, staff development is strong, and vulnerable pupils, including those with SEND, are identified and supported effectively. Personal development is a notable strength, with a wide range of opportunities, community involvement, trips and a thorough careers programme. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement concern assessment and reading in key stage 4. Some teachers do not use assessment processes consistently well enough to spot misconceptions and gaps, so learning occasionally moves on before pupils are ready. The school's approach to identifying and supporting older pupils who struggle with reading is underdeveloped, meaning some do not get the help they need. The school has rapidly improved with trust support and has a committed staff body. This was the school's first section 5 inspection; it converted to academy status in January 2022 and its predecessor school had previously been judged inadequate. The school is part of Outwood Grange Academies Trust and had not previously been inspected under section 5.

Strengths

• Warm, caring culture with strong staff-pupil relationships that help pupils feel happy and safe
• Calm, purposeful lessons where learning is rarely disrupted
• Pupils are polite, well mannered and respectful, with positive behaviour supported by programmes such as ACE
• Ambitious curriculum with knowledge building logically from Year 7 to Year 11
• Strong emphasis on staff development and well-managed change, with staff supportive of the improvement journey
• Effective support for vulnerable pupils, including those with SEND, so they can learn alongside peers
• Quick identification and effective catch-up support for key stage 3 pupils who struggle with reading
• Personal development programme equips pupils well for life in modern Britain, including community action, trips and careers guidance
• Tenacious work to understand absence and remove barriers to attendance
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers do not use assessment processes effectively to identify misconceptions and gaps, so learning sometimes moves on before pupils are ready
• Support for key stage 4 pupils who struggle with reading is underdeveloped, leaving some older pupils without the help they need

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 Hindley attended 89.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 32.9% 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, 8.1% of pupils at Outwood Academy Hindley were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 5 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 Hindley had 17.7 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, 12.9% of pupils at Outwood Academy Hindley were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.9% 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 Hindley received £7,950 and spent £7,985 for each of its 922 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,302,000 (£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 Wigan · Wigan local authority: places and applications

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

• Outwood Academy Haydock St. Helens
• Outwood Primary Academy Kirkhamgate Wakefield
• Outwood Grange Academy Wakefield
• Outwood Primary Academy Ledger Lane Wakefield
• Outwood Primary Academy Greenhill Wakefield
• Outwood Primary Academy Park Hill Wakefield
• Outwood Primary Academy Lofthouse Gate Wakefield
• Outwood Academy City Fields Wakefield
• Outwood Academy Carlton Barnsley
• Outwood Primary Academy Littleworth Grange Barnsley

What is Outwood Academy Hindley's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Outwood Academy Hindley is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Outwood Academy Hindley last inspected by Ofsted?

Outwood Academy Hindley was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Outwood Academy Hindley have?

Outwood Academy Hindley has 908 pupils on roll.

What age range does Outwood Academy Hindley cover?

Outwood Academy Hindley for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Outwood Academy Hindley's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.3, and 43% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Outwood Academy Hindley?

Outwood Academy Hindley is at Mornington Road, Hindley, Wigan, Lancashire, WN2 4LG.