Alderwood Academy, Ipswich
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 5 months agoReport card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
Alderwood Academy excels at helping vulnerable pupils who have missed significant education or experienced school anxiety to quickly settle and thrive. Staff know each pupil extremely well and respond with calm, consistent care using therapeutic approaches, which means pupils miss very little learning time and develop strong self-belief. The school expertly removes barriers to learning and ensures pupils leave better prepared for their next stage with improved confidence and positive attitudes to their futures.
Key Strengths
- Exceptional focus on attendance with vigilant systems that quickly identify barriers and take swift action, resulting in notable improvements
- Highly inclusive culture with expert early identification of pupil needs and personalised support plans followed consistently
- Calm, purposeful behaviour across the school with strong staff-pupil relationships built on trust and therapeutic approaches
- Ambitious, well-designed curriculum personalised to individual needs with effective teaching of phonics and early reading
- Strong leadership with clear moral purpose, visible support for staff wellbeing, and rigorous governance oversight
Areas for Improvement
- Ensure curriculum for pupils on each pathway is consistently well matched to their needs - currently some pupils on one pathway have less well-matched curriculum provision
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met. Leaders have established an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, concerns are actively identified and managed, and pupils feel safe.
Alderwood Academy is a specialist school for pupils with significant vulnerabilities and special educational needs. The school has created a warm, inclusive environment where pupils who have experienced disrupted education quickly settle and begin to trust school again.
At a Glance
0.0%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Class Sizes
0.0
Avg class size
0
Total classes
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Bus Stops
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
0%
Available places
0 pupils
24 capacity
24 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Ipswich
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Ipswich
Admissions Demand - Suffolk
Places available
8,496
Applications
7,401
Got 1st preference
92.0%
Got preferred school
97.4%
Secondary admissions across Suffolk (2025/26)
Inspection History(5)
House Prices
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SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
Pupil Demographics
The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.
Teachers & Staff
Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.
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