Aldercar High School

Overall, Aldercar High School is a caring and inclusive school that has been through significant leadership change. It serves a community with high proportions of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, including a specially resourced provision for pupils who are deaf or hearing-impaired or have physical disabilities. A substantive headteacher joined only six days before the April 2026 inspection, after a period of interim leadership and turbulence. Safeguarding standards are met, and leaders have steadied the school, improving behaviour and attendance and creating a more positive culture. Strengths include strong pastoral care, an inclusive ethos, expert support for pupils with SEND, improved attendance and behaviour, and a well-planned personal development curriculum. Pupils feel safe, bullying is rare, and disadvantaged pupils are encouraged to take part in wider opportunities. However, academic performance remains a concern. Attainment at key stages 4 and 5 is below national averages across most measures, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, and some pupils have gaps in foundational learning. Curriculum planning and teaching are inconsistent, assessment is not precise enough, and weaknesses in spelling, grammar, letter formation and phonics support are not always addressed quickly. Leadership and governance still need further development. Although governance is appropriate and trust support is improving, improvement work is at an early stage, and staff workload has been negatively affected. Post-16 provision has also faced change: level 2 and 3 provision is closing, historical level 3 achievement was below average, and some sixth-form students do not engage in wider activities. The new headteacher brings optimism, and the school is beginning to improve, but the impact of recent actions on achievement is not yet evident.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive safeguarding culture.
• Leaders have created an inclusive school where all pupils are known well and thoughtfully supported.
• Pupils with SEND receive expert support, and curriculum adaptations are skilfully matched to their needs.
• Attendance has improved and persistent absence, including for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, has reduced.
• Behaviour has improved significantly; lessons are calm and suspensions have reduced.
• Pupils are well mannered, self-disciplined and rarely experience bullying or harassment.
• Pastoral care is an absolute strength, and pupils feel safe, valued and cared for.
• Personal, social and health education is well planned, relevant and valued by pupils.
• Pupils receive effective careers advice, and more pupils move to suitable destinations.
• The school offers a range of additional activities and encourages vulnerable pupils to take part.
• Governance structures are appropriate, and governors provide suitable challenge and support.
• The post-16 level 1 provision is well taught, well adapted and strongly supports SEND students' next steps.
• Staff are proud, committed and positive about recent leadership stability.

Areas for Improvement

• Attainment at the end of key stages 4 and 5 is below national averages across most measures.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they should over time.
• Some pupils have gaps in the foundational knowledge and skills needed for future learning.
• Curriculum planning and teaching are inconsistent across subjects and key stages.
• Assessment and checks of pupils' learning are not precise enough to address gaps quickly.
• Errors in spelling, grammar and letter formation are sometimes not corrected promptly.
• Specialist phonics support for the weakest readers is not yet fully embedded.
• Improvement work is at an early stage, and the impact of recent actions on achievement is not yet evident.
• Leadership turbulence and workload pressures have negatively affected some staff.
• Post-16 level 3 achievement has historically been below average, and level 2 and 3 provision is closing.
• Some sixth-form students do not engage in wider activities, limiting their personal development and experience.
• Although improving, overall absence and persistent absence remain above national averages in published data.

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 Aldercar High School attended 89.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 25.5% 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, 10.6% of pupils at Aldercar High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 Aldercar High School had 17.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.7% 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, 14.7% of pupils at Aldercar High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 10.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 6 pupils.

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 Aldercar High School received £10,287 and spent £8,419 for each of its 691 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £182,000 (£264 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Embark Multi Academy Trust, income was £8,703 and spending £7,965 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 Nottingham · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

Aldercar High School is part of Embark Multi Academy Trust, which runs 29 schools. The nearest others:

• Aldercar Infant School Nottingham
• Howitt Primary Community School Heanor
• Waingroves Primary School Ripley
• Richardson Endowed Primary School Ilkeston
• Ripley Junior School Ripley
• Riddings Junior School Alfreton
• Horsley Woodhouse Primary School Ilkeston
• Chaucer Junior School Ilkeston
• Kilburn Junior School Belper
• Chaucer Infant School Ilkeston

What is Aldercar High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Aldercar High School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Aldercar High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Aldercar High School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Aldercar High School have?

Aldercar High School has 648 pupils on roll.

What age range does Aldercar High School cover?

Aldercar High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Aldercar High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 38.3, and 31% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Aldercar High School?

Aldercar High School is at Daltons Close, Langley Mill, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG16 4HL.