Cowley Academy

Cowley Academy is a sponsor-led secondary school within South Lincolnshire Academies Trust that opened in 2022 and was inspected for the first time under section 5 in May 2025. Inspectors found that the school has improved substantially since opening and that pupils feel safe, valued and proud to belong. The school has a strong culture of high expectations, positive behaviour and respect, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Parents and staff recognise the improvements, and pupils appreciate the care and support available. Leadership is a particular strength. Leaders have a clear moral purpose, governance is focused on the right priorities, and staff are proud to work at the school and feel well supported. The curriculum is ambitious and prepares pupils well for their next stages, including appropriate academic and vocational options at key stage 4. Teachers have strong subject knowledge, check learning carefully and help pupils address gaps. Reading support, pastoral care and careers guidance are also notable strengths. The main areas for improvement concern pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and wider enrichment. The school’s approach to identifying and providing for all pupils with SEND is not yet fully embedded, and support information is sometimes insufficiently precise, meaning some of these pupils do not achieve as highly as they could. The range of experiences and opportunities to develop pupils’ interests and talents is also limited, so these are not nurtured as well as they might be.

Strengths

• Leaders have significantly improved the school since it opened and lead with a strong moral purpose.
• Governance is focused on the right priorities and provides appropriate support and challenge.
• The curriculum is ambitious and prepares pupils well for their next stages.
• Pupils have access to appropriate academic and vocational qualifications in key stage 4.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and check pupils’ learning thoroughly.
• Staff use assessment information to address misunderstandings and gaps in pupils’ knowledge.
• Pupils who are at an early stage of reading are supported to become confident and fluent readers.
• High expectations of behaviour are consistently met, and there is a strong culture of respect.
• Pupils feel safe, have a strong sense of belonging and value the pastoral care available.
• The personal, social, health and economic education offer is carefully structured and age appropriate.
• Careers advice and guidance are particularly strong and prepare pupils well for their next steps.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and value consideration for their well-being and workload.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• The school has not fully embedded its approach to identifying and providing for all pupils with SEND.
• Support information for pupils with SEND sometimes lacks precision, so some do not achieve as highly as they could.
• The range of experiences and opportunities to develop pupils’ interests and talents is rather limited.
• Pupils’ interests and talents are not nurtured and developed as well as they could be.

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 Cowley Academy attended 91.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 27.6% 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, 7.2% of pupils at Cowley Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 Cowley Academy had 15.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.8% 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, 12.7% of pupils at Cowley Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.3% 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 Cowley Academy received £7,703 and spent £8,332 for each of its 628 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £805,000 (£1,281 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of South Lincolnshire Academies Trust, income was £7,357 and spending £7,723 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 Spalding · Lincolnshire local authority: places and applications

Cowley Academy is part of South Lincolnshire Academies Trust, which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

• Spalding Academy Spalding
• Bourne Academy Bourne
• Giles Academy Boston

What is Cowley Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cowley Academy is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Cowley Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Cowley Academy was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Cowley Academy have?

Cowley Academy has 621 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cowley Academy cover?

Cowley Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Cowley Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.3, and 31% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Cowley Academy?

Cowley Academy is at School Lane, Donington, Spalding, Lincolnshire, PE11 4TF.