The Rural Enterprise Academy, Penkridge

Inadequate
Secondary
Free schools
Mixed
Ages 1116

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Very likely (~2.0km)Possible (~2.8km)Unlikely (~3.7km)Confidence: medium

Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data. Admissions policy: Non-selective

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mrs Annabel Stoddart
Pupils:217 / 300 capacity
LA:Staffordshire
Phone:01785333360
Address:Rodbaston Drive, Penkridge, ST19 5PH
Trust:PENK VALLEY ACADEMY TRUST
Admissions:Non-selective
Status:open
Opened:1 September 2012

Ofsted Rating

Inadequate

Overall

URN:138351
UKPRN:10038332
Diocese:Not applicable
Constituency:Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge
Urban/Rural:Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

The school has made strong progress in creating a safer environment where pupils feel secure. New leadership has introduced clearer behaviour expectations and improved relationships between staff and pupils. The school is also successfully supporting pupils with additional needs and has made real improvements in attendance by understanding individual barriers and providing targeted help.

Key Strengths

  • Safeguarding is now effective with significant improvements made to systems and staff training
  • Behaviour and attitudes to learning are improving with declining exclusions and suspensions
  • Attendance rates have improved considerably, particularly for pupils who were frequently absent
  • Curriculum has been meaningfully restructured with clearer lesson sequences and quality assurance
  • Support for pupils with special needs has improved through better identification and more frequent reviews

Areas for Improvement

  • Inconsistency remains in how the behaviour policy is applied by some staff
  • Whole-school behaviour culture needs further embedding
  • Assessment practices need refining to ensure consistency across the school
  • Impact of adaptive teaching approaches for whole classes is still at an early stage
  • Reading culture needs further development beyond current interventions

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is now effective, with the school having made significant improvements to its systems, staff training, and procedures for recording and reporting concerns.

The Rural Enterprise Academy is in special measures following a July 2024 inspection. This monitoring visit shows the school has made positive progress under new leadership, but further work is necessary before special measures can be removed.

At a Glance

28.6%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

No

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

42 responses
Would recommend76%
Child is happy83%
Well taught79%
Good progress71%
Feels safe88%
Well behaved76%
Bullying dealt with36%
Kept informed76%
Handles concerns74%
Wider development64%

Source: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree

Class Sizes

20.2

Avg class size

12

Total classes

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Bus Stops

Rodbaston College (by)
685m · 11 min walk
Rodbaston Drive (adj)
930m · 15 min walk
Spread Eagle PH (adj)
1.3km · 21 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

72%

Available places

217 pupils

300 capacity

83 spare places available

Area Demand Pressure - Penkridge

Low pressure
New homes approved:40
Projected new pupils:7

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Penkridge

Admissions Demand - Staffordshire

Low demand0.89x oversubscription

Places available

8,849

Applications

7,846

Got 1st preference

91.6%

Got preferred school

98.6%

Secondary admissions across Staffordshire (2025/26)

Inspection History(105)

Date not published by Ofsted
Inadequate
Date not published by Ofsted
Inadequate
Date not published by Ofsted
Inadequate

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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.

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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.

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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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School Funding

Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

10.0698%

Overall absence

27.61194%

Persistent absence

268

Enrolments

Authorised6.87368%
Unauthorised3.19612%
Persistent (10%+)27.61194%
Severe (50%+)6.34328%

Absence trend

8.68328%
18/19
9.1259%
20/21
14.46285%
21/22
12.42685%
22/23
11.5234%
23/24
10.0698%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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