Finch Woods Academy
Bailey's Lane, Halewood, Liverpool, L26 0TY
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special sponsor led
- Ages
- 9 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- MANOR HALL ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Adrian Larkin
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Manor Hall Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Widnes and Halewood
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 92
- Pupils on roll
- 88
- URN
- 141033
- Local authority
- Knowsley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01512942707
About this school
Finch Woods Academy is a special academy in Liverpool. It teaches children aged 9 to 16 and has 88 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | - | - | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | - | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | - | - | 11% |
| Expected standard in maths | - | - | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | - | - | 11% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | 98.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | 91.0 |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 25 | 12 | 20 |
| Attainment 8 score | 3.8 | 3.7 | 1.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -2.78 -3.39 to -2.18 | -2.61 -3.49 to -1.74 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Finch Woods Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Knowsley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.8 | 27.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 3.7 | 27.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 1.8 | 28.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 33.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 39.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 35.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 88 |
| 2023/24 | 82 |
| 2024/25 | 82 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report10 March 2026
- 4 October 2023
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 90.24%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 35.16%
- Persistent absence
- 75.51%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Lakeside School2.7 miles
Special schools · Liverpool
-
Hope School2.8 miles
Special schools · Liverpool
-
Woolton High School2.8 miles
Special schools · Liverpool
-
Ashley High School2.9 miles
Special schools · Widnes
-
Abbot's Lea School2.9 miles
Special schools · Liverpool
Other schools in Liverpool
- Abbot's Lea School Special schools
- Acre View Primary School Special schools
- Alt Bridge School Special schools
- Bank View High School Special schools
- Bluebell Park School Special schools
- Childwall Abbey School Special schools
- Clifford Holroyde Sen College Special schools
- Co-op Academy Rathbone Academies
- Crosby High School Special schools
- Educ8 Liverpool Special schools
- Everton Free School & Football College Free Schools
- Foundations for LIFE School Special schools
Common questions
- What year groups does Finch Woods Academy teach?
- Finch Woods Academy teaches children aged 9 to 16. It is a special school in Liverpool.
- Who is the headteacher of Finch Woods Academy?
- The headteacher of Finch Woods Academy is Mr Adrian Larkin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Finch Woods Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Finch Woods Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Finch Woods Academy?
- Finch Woods Academy has 88 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 9 to 16.
- Is Finch Woods Academy full?
- Finch Woods Academy has capacity for 92 pupils and 88 on roll (96%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Finch Woods Academy a faith school?
- No. Finch Woods Academy has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Finch Woods Academy?
- Finch Woods Academy is part of MANOR HALL ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Finch Woods Academy have?
- The schools register lists Finch Woods Academy's special educational needs provision as: SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- What is Finch Woods Academy's absence rate?
- Finch Woods Academy's overall absence rate is 35.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Finch Woods Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Finch Woods Academy's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.