Penwith Alternative Provision Academy
Special / other · Penzance · TR18 3NX
Data updated
SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection
We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →
Inspected 8 January 2025
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
44 pupils · 81% of 54 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Academy alternative provision converter
- Age range
- 3–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Free school meals
- 70.5% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 0% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 92.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 7.1% of pupils (2024/2025)
- Website
- www.waveedu.org
- URN
- 139760
In figures
At its inspection on 8 January 2025 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Good. It had 44 pupils at the 15 January 2026 census.
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 93% (Cornwall 94%, England 73%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Cornwall 1%, England 4%) · Not recorded 2% (Cornwall 2%, England 3%) · Any other White background 2% (Cornwall 1%, England 3%)
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Staffing
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
92% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 8% moved to another state school
Vacancies (November 2025)
0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, special schools and PRUs: 0.68% vacant, 1.02% temporary
Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)
46.2% of teachers took sickness absence, 20.2 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days
Teacher pay (November 2025)
Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £55,750; 21.4% on the leadership pay range · England, special schools and PRUs: £53,604, 18.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Spending per pupil (2024-25)
Where the money went (2024-25)
Share of spending, with the median for alternative provision schools in brackets: Staff 83% (80%) · premises 4% (4%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 6% (5%) · supplies and services 7% (9%) · educational supplies 5% (4%) · bought-in professional services 0% (1%) · catering 4% (2%)
Reserves (2024-25)
Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£273,000
Spending and reserves, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared
Inspection history since 2015
- 8 January 2025: Good
- 1 February 2024: Taking effective action towards the removal of special measures
- 11 October 2022: Inadequate
- 22 January 2019: School remains Outstanding
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 1/10among the most deprived tenth of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 19.3% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 22.8% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 12.8% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 33.7% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 40.3% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 25.7% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 65.3% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 9% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 3.5% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 20.7% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 9% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 36.2% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01018997 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £240,000332 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £190,000–£300,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.
Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.
Roads around the school
- Child pedestrian casualties
- 0an urban school averages 2.0
- Collisions at school-run times
- 1an urban school averages 5.7
- All reported collisions
- 7an urban school averages 30.5
- Of those, serious or fatal
- 2an urban school averages 6.1
A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted