Stansfield Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 3 June 2025

Pupils feel safe and place their trust in staff at Stansfield Academy. They demonstrate this in their conduct and interactions with staff and each other. This is significant because of the adverse experiences of education that pupils have often had following permanent exclusion. Stansfield's positive culture is successful due to the strong and respectful relationships that staff prioritise with each pupil. The foundations of strong relationships give staff the ability to hold high expectations of how pupils behave and react to challenges they face. Pupils understand these expectations and are motivated to meet them. This creates a purposeful learning environment. This is indicated by a decrease in suspensions and behaviour incidents which require significant support. Pupils' increasingly positive attitudes to education are supported well by the school's ambition for their academic success. The school has strengthened the quality and content of the curriculum from primary through to key stage 4. As a result, pupils across the school achieve well. Those who stay with the school through to the end of Year 11 gain a range of qualifications that set them up well for their next step. Pupils are increasingly successful in these next steps, whether it is reintegration into an appropriate education setting, employment or training.

What the school should improve

• The offer for pupils' wider development is not as well designed and established as the school's academic offer. Consequently, pupils do not benefit as much as they could from opportunities to foster and apply the skills that the school is supporting them to develop. The school should make sure that the opportunities for pupils' personal development are more embedded, and enhance the academic offer it has in place.
• At times, opportunities to promote pupils' independence are not as effective as they could be. This can hinder pupils' ability to increase their independence as much as the school intends. The school should maximise opportunities for pupils to reduce their reliance on adult help and support so that they build more independence, intrinsic motivation and self-help strategies.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)