Baines School, Poulton-le-Fylde

Ofsted's report card from its 24 March 2026 inspection grades Baines School on 6 areas: 6 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Achievement - Expected standard. "Leaders' improvements to teaching and assessment are having a positive impact on pupils' achievement."

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Leaders place a sharp emphasis on improving pupils' attendance and make clear that it is everyone's responsibility."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "Leaders have taken clear steps to improve the quality of teaching across the curriculum."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Over time, leaders have put systems in place to identify pupils' additional needs and any barriers to learning."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Pupils, their parents and carers, and staff recognise the clear improvements leaders have made since the previous inspection."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "The school's personal development programme, RESPECT, is well designed and ambitious."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that the improvements that have been made in teachers' pedagogy and use of assessment are consistently embedded across the curriculum so that all pupils can achieve well"; "Leaders should ensure that staff are fully equipped to use the information that they have about pupils' vulnerabilities to swiftly remove any barriers to learning, including gaps in knowledge, so that all pupils can benefit from improvements in curriculum delivery"; "Leaders should further enhance the effectiveness of their processes for identifying pupils in key stage 4 who find reading difficult so that these pupils can receive effective support to fully access the wider curriculum".

In 2026, pupils at Baines School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 47.4, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 46.2 in Lancashire and 47 across England.

47% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 44% in Lancashire and 47% in England.

That is up from 45.8 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.59: pupils made well below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 40.3, against 51.2 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 10.9 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 108 families put Baines School as their first choice and 450 named it as one of their preferences, for 171 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to Baines School are Blackpool Aspire Academy (0.9 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 37.7); Hodgson Academy (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.3); St Mary's Catholic Academy (1.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 44.2); and Unity Academy Blackpool (1.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 27.9).

Baines School's 2026 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

73 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Baines School (as of April 2026): 69% would recommend the school, 73% say their child is happy there and 21% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (73%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (21%).

Of the 183 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 84% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 33% to a further education college, 3% to an apprenticeship and 4% into work.

2.9% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 85 pupils (11.7%) received SEN support and 10 (1.4%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Poulton-le-Fylde Rail Station, about 0.8 miles away in a straight line.

10 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Baines HS school only (outside), 60 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Baines School stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 166 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Lancashire (109), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, Baines School issued 193 suspensions, 25.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to Baines School are Poulton-le-Fylde Carr Head Primary School (0.5 miles); Poulton-le-Fylde St Chad's CofE Primary School (0.6 miles); Boundary Primary School (1.1 miles); and St John's Catholic Primary School, Poulton-Le-Fylde (1.2 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.