Ofsted: Requires improvement trending_up Places Available emoji_events #19 in Westmorland and Furness public Top 47% UK

Walney Academy

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

person Ms Jennifer Wildman

corporate_fareFURNESS EDUCATION TRUST

location_onBarrow-in-Furness, LA14 3JT

language Visit Website phone 01229471528

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Ofsted

Requires improvement

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

479

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Attainment 8

40.5

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GCSE Rank

#15 in Westmorland and Furness

#2,819 of 4,024 nationally

summarize

Walney Academy is a Academy sponsor led secondary school in Barrow-in-Furness, serving ages 11-16. Currently Requires Improvement according to Ofsted — the school is working to raise standards.

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School Summary

Walney Academy is an academy sponsor led in Barrow-in-Furness, Westmorland and Furness, admitting pupils aged 11-16. It is part of FURNESS EDUCATION TRUST. The school has approximately 468 pupils on roll, of whom 28% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2026, pupils achieved an Attainment 8 score of 40.5, placing the school #15 in Westmorland and Furness and #2,819 of 4,024 nationally. 27.30% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and Maths. 6.0% of all GCSE entries were graded 9–7.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2025. The school's current overall rating is Requires improvement. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Requires improvement, behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement, personal development Requires improvement, and leadership and management Requires improvement.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 0.9× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 24.0:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were 2 permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 19.5 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

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Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

2026

Attainment 8 Score

40.5

across 8 GCSE slots

Grade 5+ E&M

27.30%

Grade 4+ E&M

52.70%

Grade 9–7 (all GCSEs)6.0%

5+ GCSEs (4+ incl. E&M)47.30%

Triple Science Entry30.90%

EBacc Slot Score11.6 / 30

2025

Attainment 8 Score

38.7

across 8 GCSE slots

Grade 5+ E&M

21.90%

Grade 4+ E&M

41.20%

Grade 9–7 (all GCSEs)6.1%

Entering EBacc7.00%

EBacc APS3.19

2024

Progress 8 Score

-1.2

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

34.4

Grade 5+ E&M

24.60%

Entering EBacc16.40%

EBacc APS2.99

2023

Progress 8 Score

-0.84

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

40.6

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc7%

EBacc APS3.44

2022

Progress 8 Score

-1.09

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

37.2

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc5%

EBacc APS3.11

2019

Progress 8 Score

-0.53

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

41.2

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc5%

EBacc APS3.49

2018

Progress 8 Score

-0.68

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

39.4

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc32%

EBacc APS3.62

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Student Destinations (After Secondary)

This module shows what students did after finishing Key Stage 4 (GCSEs). It reflects how well the school prepares pupils for the real world.

2026

Stayed in Education / Employment

83.6%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)68.9%

Apprenticeships13.1%

Employment1.6%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)9.8%

2025

Stayed in Education / Employment

93%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)52%

Apprenticeships36%

Employment5%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)6%

2024

Stayed in Education / Employment

83%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)53%

Apprenticeships21%

Employment9%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)15%

2023

Stayed in Education / Employment

91%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)75%

Apprenticeships10%

Employment6%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)8%

2022

Stayed in Education / Employment

94%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)78%

Apprenticeships9%

Employment7%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)6%

2021

Stayed in Education / Employment

92%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)78%

Apprenticeships14%

Employment0%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)7%

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Ranking History & Trajectory

National & Local Authority position based on DfE performance data · Methodology

Year	Secondary Overall (Nat)	LA Rank	GCSE Attainment	Progress 8 Rank
2026	#3,150 / 4,024	#19	#2,819	#1
2025	#2,677 / 3,948	#18	#3,026	#1
2024	#3,524 / 4,450	#20	#3,347	#3,139
2023	#2,911 / 4,321	#20	#2,688	#2,922
2022	#3,017 / 4,199	#20	#3,172	#2,951
2019	#2,333 / 2,711	#17	#2,138	#2,456
2018	#2,276 / 2,537	#18	#2,199	#2,415

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

07 May 2025

Inspection Report

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13 December 2023

Inspection Report

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22 February 2022

Inspection Report

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07 November 2018

Inspection Report

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11 October 2017

Inspection Report

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29 November 2016

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

6 Evaluations

2025-05-07

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 2 EIF

Report Card

info

Why no single overall grade?

From autumn 2024 / 2025, Ofsted replaced single-word headline grades (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate) with individual area judgements on a Report Card.

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Requires improvement

Development

Requires improvement

Leadership

Requires improvement

verified_user Safeguarding: Met

2022-02-22

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 EIF

Requires improvement

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Requires improvement

Development

Good

Leadership

Requires improvement

verified_user Safeguarding: Met

2018-11-07

Serious Weaknesses S5 Reinspection Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

verified_user Safeguarding: Met

2017-10-11

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

2016-11-29

None Legacy

Inadequate

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

2013-12-03

None Legacy

Inadequate

Education

Inadequate

Leadership

Inadequate

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

16.8%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 7.3% for this term (secondary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

6.8%(35 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

1pupils

gavel Exclusion recorded

National average: 7.398% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 518 pupils. During this period, there were 87 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 16.8%, which is above the termly national average of 7.3%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	518	87	16.8%	7.3%	1
2024/25 (Autumn term)	526	117	22.2%	7.8%	1
2023/24 (Summer term)	493	57	11.6%	7.4%	1
2023/24 (Spring term)	489	49	10.0%	7.1%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	493	54	11.0%	8.2%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	479	25	5.2%	6.6%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	479	27	5.6%	6.4%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	488	36	7.4%	5.9%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	510	33	6.5%	4.7%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	508	29	5.7%	4.9%	2
2021/22 (Autumn term)	505	16	3.2%	4.4%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	503	26	5.2%	3.6%	2
2020/21 (Spring term)	506	10	2.0%	1.0%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	501	55	11.0%	3.9%	2
2019/20 (Summer term)	482	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	482	36	7.5%	3.2%	1
2019/20 (Autumn term)	490	55	11.2%	4.2%	2
2018/19 (Summer term)	548	37	6.8%	3.1%	1
2018/19 (Spring term)	553	30	5.4%	3.8%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	559	31	5.5%	3.8%	2
2017/18 (Summer term)	574	23	4.0%	3.4%	1
2017/18 (Spring term)	582	16	2.7%	3.0%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	587	18	3.1%	3.7%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	631	27	4.3%	3.0%	2
2016/17 (Spring term)	635	21	3.3%	3.3%	1
2016/17 (Autumn term)	637	37	5.8%	3.1%	0

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 38 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 24 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 22 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 15 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 11 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 7 pupils

Physical Disability 4 pupils

Hearing Impairment 2 pupils

Severe Learning Difficulty 1 pupils