OFSTED
Latest graded inspection
9 July 2024
Latest published outcome
Inadequate
OEIF
Quality of education
Inadequate
Behaviour & attitudes
Inadequate
Personal development
Requires improvement
Leadership & management
Inadequate
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Free schools
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Staffordshire
Trust
PENK VALLEY ACADEMY TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics
for 2025/26.
2025/26
Total pupils
217
217 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
99
45.6% of pupils
Male pupils
118
54.4% of pupils
3.8 pts
above England
School
28.6%
South Staffordshire
16.8%
West Midlands
30.6%
England
24.8%
18.9 pts
below England
School
1.4%
South Staffordshire
2.1%
West Midlands
22.4%
England
20.3%
0.1 pts
below England
School
0.9%
South Staffordshire
0.2%
West Midlands
0.6%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White and Black Caribbean
3.7%
8
Any other White background
1.4%
3
Any other Mixed background
0.9%
2
White and Black African
0.9%
2
Any other ethnic group
0.5%
1
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an
education, health and care plan.
2025/26
Pupils with SEN
40.1%
87 of
217 pupils
19.3 pts
above England
England:
20.8%
South Staffordshire
18.5%
SEN support
32.7%
71 pupils
England
14.8%
17.9 pts
above
EHC plans
7.4%
16 pupils
England
6.0%
1.3 pts
above
PRIMARY NEEDS
Most common identified needs
Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health
30
Autistic spectrum disorder
17
Specific learning difficulty
14
Speech, language & communication
13
Moderate learning difficulty
9
SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published
2025/26 Department for Education school-level data.
Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support
and pupils with EHC plans.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education
absence data for
2024/25.
Lower absence rates are generally
better.
2024/25
ABSENCE RATE
Overall absence
10.07%
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
3.85 pts
higher than
England
School
10.07%
South Staffordshire
5.55%
West Midlands
6.28%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
Persistent absence
27.61%
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
11.80 pts
higher than
England
School
27.61%
South Staffordshire
13.09%
West Midlands
16.42%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
Severe absence
6.34%
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
4.54 pts
higher than
England
School
6.34%
South Staffordshire
1.49%
West Midlands
1.82%
England
1.80%
Council, regional and national
comparisons are averages of published
school-level percentages rather than
pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
School context
Comparison with open
secondary schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
72.3%
20.0 pts
below England
The Rural Enterprise Academy
72.3%
South Staffordshire
86.1%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.