School Chooser

Co-op Academy Brierley

Special · ages 4-16MixedFree school248 pupils Free breakfast clubLeeds
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedAs expected teachingOfsted report card, May 2026
Reached the expected level at 110%England 63%
Attendance89.0%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families48%Far more than most schools
Places2 spare248 pupils, 250 places
Pupils per teacher8.0School workforce census

Co-op Academy Brierley is a special free school in Leeds for boys and girls aged 4 to 16. It has 248 pupils and room for 250. About 48 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted visited in May 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Cross Green Lane, Leeds, LS9 0BA0113 323 0073brierley.coopacademies.co.ukMrs Sarah Harridge headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 19 May 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”
As expected
Achievement
As expected
Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”
Strong
Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”
Strong
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”
Strong
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”
Strong
Early years
As expected
SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

9 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 110%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading scoreOfficial name: Reading average scaled score
Maths scoreOfficial name: Maths average scaled score
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025LeedsEngland
Pupils tested9
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths0%64%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%9%8%
Expected level: readingReading expected standard0%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard0%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)0%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Getting a place

Open to all. There is no entrance test.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Leeds council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll248Census January 2026
Places25099% full
Pupils from low-income families48%48% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English31%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%248 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)49%£160,800 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls177 / 71
White British pupils51%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (150), language and communications needs (51), Specific learning difficulty (18), Moderate learning difficulty (6), emotional and mental health (6), Other difficulty or disability (5).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024
Pupils on roll24814454
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals48%54%50%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language31%32%22%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support1%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans99%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 89.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance89.0%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school31.8%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils1.42024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission4.6%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/24England
Sessions missedOverall absence11.0%14.7%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence6.4%8.7%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence4.6%6.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence31.8%47.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate1.49.3
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers31.0full-time equivalent, 31 people
Pupils per teacher8.0Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers90%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants67.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£50,309
Teachers who left in the year5%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher0.82024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£27,660England £30,720. Total £4.0m
Income per pupil£28,604England £33,526. Total £4.1m
Spent on teachers per pupil£15,472England £11,966
Money in reserve1%Very little put by: £32k, £224 per pupil. England 16%
Money in against money out+£136kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£27,660spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m44412 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate131 per 1,000 people44% higher than the England average
Typical house price£245,000Leeds
Nearest bus stop80 mCross Green Ln Glencoe View, 14 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Richmond Hill AcademyAcademy480 m651Good 20226Compare
Mount St Mary's Catholic High SchoolRoman Catholic970 m943No overall grade 202589Compare
All Saint's Richmond Hill Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England990 m260Good 202355Compare
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, HunsletRoman Catholic0.7 miles202Good 202385Compare
Low Road Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles183Good 202386Compare
Trinity Academy LeedsFree school0.8 miles1,182Outstanding 202494Compare
University Technical College LeedsUniversity technical college0.8 miles546Good 202363Compare
LS-TENIndependent0.8 miles60Not inspectedCompare

Questions parents ask

Is Co-op Academy Brierley a good school?

Co-op Academy Brierley doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted's report card from May 2026 rated its teaching as as expected.

What is Co-op Academy Brierley's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 19 May 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as strong, leadership as strong.

How good are Co-op Academy Brierley's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Co-op Academy Brierley have?

248 pupils aged 4 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 250 places, so it is 99% full.

What is attendance like at Co-op Academy Brierley?

Pupils were in school 89.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 32% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Co-op Academy Brierley have a breakfast club?

Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Cross Green Lane, Leeds, LS9 0BA
Telephone
0113 323 0073
Website
brierley.coopacademies.co.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Sarah Harridge
Free breakfast club
Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
Type of school
Special free school (Free schools special, free schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 4-16
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Multi-academy trust
The Co-operative Academies Trust (40 schools)
Local authority
Leeds
Ward
Burmantofts & Richmond Hill
Constituency
Leeds South
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2023 (academy free school)
URN
149719 · LAESTAB 3837010 · UKPRN 10093046

Where these figures come from