SchoolFacts

The Meadows Academy

Special / other · Spennymoor · DL16 7QW

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Requires improvement

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: Requires improvementBehaviour & attitudes: Requires improvementPersonal development: Requires improvementLeadership & management: Requires improvementSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 5 December 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

64 pupils · 85% of 75 capacity

School type
Academy special converter
Age range
11–16
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
78.1% of pupils
Website
https://www.horizonstrust.org.uk/our-academies/the-meadows-academy
URN
151483

Attendance (2025/26 autumn term)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
23.8%
England 6.5%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
46%
England 18.1%

Autumn-term absence, DfE pupil absence data. Lower is better.

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
5.1
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

School Workforce Census, DfE. The ratio counts full-time-equivalent qualified teachers; retention follows teachers in post one November to the next. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Spending per pupil

This school£20,619
Typical special / other school£29,008

Total expenditure ÷ pupils, academy finance return (DfE Schools Financial Benchmarking, latest year). Higher spending is not a measure of quality. It often reflects greater pupil need or a smaller school. Open Government Licence v3.0.

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