Fir Vale Academy

Sheffield · S4 8GB

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 931 pupils, 72.4% FSM

Educational attainment Ofsted and results

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 20.6% on SEN support Behaviour 23.0% absence rate Staff Awaiting data Financials £1,886 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Fir Vale Academy

General Information

Address: Owler Lane, Sheffield, S4 8GB – View on map
Phone: 01142439391
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Danny Bullock
Age range: 11-16 years
Sixth form: No
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

931 pupils out of 1050 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 673
% eligible for free school meals: 72.4%
Pupil mix: 7 in 10 (more mixed than the Sheffield average)
English as an additional language: 86% (England 22%)

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Sheffield: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 63 (1.7 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 3
Suspensions for bullying: 82 (2.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 36 (1.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Sheffield, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 23.0%
Persistently absent pupils: 58.7%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 20.6%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.8%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 66 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 52 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 36 pupils
Hearing impairment: 15 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 10 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils
Hearing impairment: 2 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

No overall grade given 2025 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted stopped giving single overall grades for a period between September 2024 and November 2025 - this school's most recent inspection falls in that window, so there's no single rating to show, even though it was inspected. The full report (linked below) still has the detail.

An Attainment 8 score for this school hasn't been added yet.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Financials

Spending per pupil: £1,886 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

29th of 29 secondary schools in Sheffield for spending per pupil

#27Oasis Academy Don Valley£6,565
#28High Storrs School£6,283
#29Fir Vale Academy£1,886

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Sheffield Springs Academy£8,592
#2Sheffield Park Academy£8,444
#3Newfield Secondary School£8,416
#4Silverdale School£8,313
#5King Edward VII School£8,216
#6Hinde House 2-16 Academy£8,110
#7Handsworth Grange Community Sports College£8,098
#8Lift Firth Park£7,942
#9Yewlands Academy£7,823
#10Meadowhead School Academy Trust£7,819
#11Bradfield Secondary School£7,814
#12Astrea Academy Sheffield£7,730
#13Stocksbridge High School£7,647
#14All Saints' Catholic High School£7,629
#15The Birley Academy£7,570
#16Outwood Academy City£7,517
#17UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park£7,481
#18Ecclesfield School£7,467
#19Westfield School£7,374
#20E-Act Parkwood Academy£7,243
#21Notre Dame High School£7,188
#22Forge Valley School & Sixth Form£7,071
#23King Ecgbert School£7,069
#24Tapton School & Sixth Form£7,005
#25UTC Sheffield City Centre£6,980
#26Mercia School£6,677
#27Oasis Academy Don Valley£6,565
#28High Storrs School£6,283
#29Fir Vale Academy£1,886

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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