Outwood Academy Kirkby

Overall, Outwood Academy Kirkby is a caring and aspirational school where pupils feel safe and build positive relationships with staff. Leaders have strengthened the curriculum considerably and achievement is improving. The curriculum is broad and ambitious, pupils with SEND follow the same curriculum as their peers, reading support is a priority, and personal development is strong through clubs, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a pupil parliament and a well-planned ‘Life’ curriculum. Safeguarding is effective. The main concern is behaviour and attendance. Most pupils behave well and understand the school’s high expectations, but a minority do not meet them, causing disruption to learning and leading to a significant number of pupils being removed from lessons or suspended. Too many pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, are absent too often and therefore miss the curriculum and wider experiences on offer. The school has good leadership and has been well supported by Outwood Grange Academies Trust. However, the curriculum is not yet planned coherently or delivered consistently well in a small number of subjects, so some pupils do not achieve as well as they could. This was the school’s first section 5 inspection, and the principal was appointed in March 2025.

Strengths

• Pupils are well cared for and feel safe
• Positive relationships between pupils and staff
• Aspirational culture with significantly improving achievement
• Broad and ambitious curriculum, including the full EBacc suite
• Effective identification and support for pupils with SEND
• Reading is a priority with personalised support
• Strong personal development through clubs, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and pupil parliament
• Well-planned ‘Life’ curriculum and careers guidance
• Good leadership with strong trust support and staff valuing training
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• Behaviour and attitudes require improvement
• A minority of pupils do not meet behaviour expectations and disrupt learning
• A significant number of pupils are frequently removed from lessons or suspended
• High suspension rates mean some pupils miss too many days of school
• Curriculum is not coherently planned or consistently delivered in some subjects
• Some pupils do not achieve as well as they could because teaching is less effective in places
• Too many pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, are absent too often

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 Kirkby attended 87.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 34.4% 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, 28.8% of pupils at Outwood Academy Kirkby were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 12 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 Kirkby had 15.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.3% 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, 22.9% of pupils at Outwood Academy Kirkby 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 Kirkby received £8,339 and spent £10,035 for each of its 549 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £775,000 (£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 Nottingham · Nottinghamshire local authority: places and applications

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

• Outwood Academy Hasland Hall Chesterfield
• Outwood Academy Newbold Chesterfield
• Outwood Academy Portland Worksop
• Outwood Academy Valley Worksop
• Outwood Academy City Sheffield
• Outwood Primary Academy Darfield Barnsley
• Outwood Academy Danum Doncaster
• Outwood Primary Academy Woodlands Doncaster
• Outwood Academy Adwick Doncaster
• Outwood Primary Academy Littleworth Grange Barnsley

What is Outwood Academy Kirkby's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Outwood Academy Kirkby is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Outwood Academy Kirkby last inspected by Ofsted?

Outwood Academy Kirkby was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Outwood Academy Kirkby have?

Outwood Academy Kirkby has 523 pupils on roll.

What age range does Outwood Academy Kirkby cover?

Outwood Academy Kirkby for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Outwood Academy Kirkby's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.5, and 34% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Outwood Academy Kirkby?

Outwood Academy Kirkby is at Tennyson Street, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG17 7DH.