OFSTED
25 November 2025
Latest inspection
Latest published outcome
Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding
Met
Inclusion
Expected standard
Curriculum & teaching
Expected standard
Achievement
Expected standard
Attendance & behaviour
Expected standard
Personal development
Strong standard
Leadership & governance
Expected standard
INSPECTION HISTORY
Previous Ofsted activity
5 October 2021
Graded inspection
Good
Published
15 November 2021
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Free schools
Phase
All-through
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Darlington
Trust
WOODARD ACADEMIES TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
842
842 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
456
54.2% of pupils
Male pupils
386
45.8% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
6.4 pts
above England
School
31.2%
Darlington
28.9%
North East
32.0%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
4.9 pts
below England
School
15.4%
Darlington
10.6%
North East
10.0%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
0.6 pts
below England
School
0.4%
Darlington
0.6%
North East
0.9%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
74.9%
631
Any other White background
6.9%
58
African
4.0%
34
Any other Mixed background
1.8%
15
Bangladeshi
1.7%
14
Indian
1.7%
14
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
13.1%
110 of
842 pupils
7.8 pts
below England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
4.1 pts
below
England
6.0%
3.7 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
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.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
2024/25
Key stage 4 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
ATTAINMENT 8
Average attainment score
44.6
5.4 pts
above England
Latest published: -0.05 · 2023/24
Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
7.96%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
1.74 pts
higher than
England
School
7.96%
Darlington
6.19%
North East
6.28%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
23.28%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
7.47 pts
higher than
England
School
23.28%
Darlington
17.45%
North East
16.04%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
2.90%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
1.09 pts
higher than
England
School
2.90%
Darlington
2.16%
North East
1.83%
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 all-through schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
95.5%
4.4 pts
above England
Polam Hall School
95.5%
Darlington
95.5%
North East
92.7%
England
91.1%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.