Ofsted commends Highfield Leadership Academy for effective school improvement

Following a visit on 22 October 2025, Ofsted has this week published a report concluding that Highfield Leadership Academy is taking effective action to deliver improvements and highlighted several significant positive developments since the school’s last graded inspection in March 2024.

The purpose of a monitoring inspection is not to grade the school, but to identify and report on the school's progress – highlighting any improvements that school leaders have made since the school's previous graded inspection.

The inspection report is complimentary about many aspects of the school and marks an important milestone in the academy’s journey. It highlights the purposeful steps taken by the school to improve standards overall, with the inspectors observing that ‘The school has taken a strategic approach to bringing about improvements to the quality of education that pupils receive.’ Ofsted also acknowledged the impact of the support provided by Star Academies, stating that ‘The trust has prioritised working closely with school leaders to ensure that there is sufficient capacity in leadership and staffing to overcome contextual challenges and drive improvement.’

Ofsted praised the school’s approach to tackling pupils’ absence, saying that this had ‘strengthened considerably’ since the last inspection, and that ‘Processes and systems have been streamlined and implemented with rigour.’ The inspector also commented on the positive impact of actions taken to improve attendance, stating that ‘Across all pupil groups, including the most vulnerable, rates of attendance are markedly higher than at the same time in the last academic year.’

The report identifies the continual changes that are being made to strengthen classroom practice and improve the quality and consistency of teaching, stating that ‘The work to develop teachers’ expertise is ongoing and supported by colleagues from within the trust.’ The effectiveness of the ‘carefully tailored support’ provided by the trust and school leaders was also highlighted, with the report noting that ‘staff receive focused and timely feedback to help them improve.’ Ofsted also recognised that the school has improved its use of assessment data to address gaps in pupils’ knowledge, noting that ‘teachers frequently review how securely pupils know and understand key learning’ and that ‘Subject teams use this information to review and refine the curriculum, identifying where important concepts need to be revisited or re-taught.’

The school’s work to support all pupils to develop their reading skills was also identified as a strength, with Ofsted commenting that ‘Since the previous inspection, the school has prioritised supporting pupils to read well.’ They added that ‘this support is helping pupils to read with more fluency and confidence.’

Kim Greenwood, Principal at Highfield Leadership Academy, said:

“Whilst it is pleasing that Ofsted has recognised the progress we have made to improve the school, we remain focused, determined and ambitious in our pursuit of achieving an outstanding level of education for our young people.

“It is reassuring that inspectors observed that ‘leaders at all levels are sharply focused on continuing to move the school forward’ and we will continue to build on this momentum to ensure that all pupils attain the highest possible outcomes and are supported in fulfilling their potential.

“It is especially encouraging to see Ofsted highlight our ‘culture of care characterised by warm relationships between staff, pupils and their families’ – affirming the strong community we have built at Highfield Leadership Academy. We are deeply grateful to our parents, carers and the local community of Blackpool for their ongoing support, and to our governors for their continued guidance.”

Highfield Leadership Academy is part of Star Academies, one of the country’s leading multi-academy trusts with 36 primary and secondary schools nationally.

To read the monitoring inspection report, click here.