School Chooser

Coal Clough Academy

Pupil referral unit / alternative provision · ages 11-16MixedAcademy alternative provision sponsor led142 pupilsBurnleyLancashire
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, January 2024
Pupils from low-income families68%Far more than most schools
Places10 spare142 pupils, 152 places
Pupils per teacher8.4School workforce census
Pupils on roll142Census January 2026

Coal Clough Academy is an academy alternative provision sponsor led in Burnley for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 142 pupils and room for 152. About 68 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Swindon Street, Burnley, BB11 4PF01282 421142coalclough.orgMrs Holly Clarke headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 26 January 2024 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

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 Lancashire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll142Census January 2026
Places15293% full
Pupils from low-income families68%68% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English3%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support51%72 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan4%6 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)64%£99,000 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls95 / 47
White British pupils82%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (54), Moderate learning difficulty (10), Autistic spectrum disorder (9), Hearing impairment (2), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (1), Specific learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll1421371181004979
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals68%64%56%49%57%60%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language3%4%9%9%14%8%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support57%50%38%47%48%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans7%7%9%8%9%

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 39 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training44%and stayed there for at least six months

Among pupils from low-income families it was 39%, compared with 55% for everyone else.

Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2021/22 leavers2020/21 leavers
Still in education, work or training44%46%53%
Education36%42%37%
Apprenticeship3%0%8%
Work5%4%8%
Not in education, work or training33%39%31%

Staff and money

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

Teachers18.4full-time equivalent, 22 people
Pupils per teacher8.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants21.2full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£52,389
Teachers who left in the year10%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher9.52024/25

Money

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

Spend per pupil£20,084England £7,128. Total £3.1m
Income per pupil£22,058England £7,587. Total £3.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£8,865England £3,405
Money in reserve21%A lot put by: £730k, £4,711 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£306kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£20,084spent 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 m1,37512 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate259 per 1,000 people185% higher than the England average
Typical house price£135,000Burnley
Nearest bus stop170 mSt Matthew Street, 16 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
Taywood Nursery SchoolLocal authority nursery school240 m73Good 2024Compare
Burnley Holy Trinity Church of England Primary SchoolChurch of England310 m206Good 202245Compare
The Rose SchoolCouncil530 m88No overall grade 2024Compare
Cherry Fold Community Primary SchoolCouncil720 m366No overall grade 20253Compare
Broadfield Specialist SchoolCouncil790 m267Outstanding 2024Compare
Lincoln House SchoolIndependent890 m5Not inspectedCompare
Christ The King Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary AcademyAcademy940 m208Not inspected64Compare
Whittlefield Primary SchoolCouncil970 m188Good 202220Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Coal Clough Academy a good school?

Coal Clough Academy doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in January 2024.

What is Coal Clough Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Coal Clough Academy good at its last full inspection on 26 January 2024.

How many pupils does Coal Clough Academy have?

142 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 152 places, so it is 93% full.

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

Contact and details

Address
Swindon Street, Burnley, BB11 4PF
Telephone
01282 421142
Website
coalclough.org
Headteacher
Mrs Holly Clarke
Type of school
Academy alternative provision sponsor led (Academy alternative provision sponsor led, academies)
Phase
Pupil referral unit / alternative provision, ages 11-16
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Education Partnership Trust (9 schools)
Local authority
Lancashire
Ward
Trinity
Constituency
Burnley
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2015 (new provision)
URN
142054 · LAESTAB 8881112 · UKPRN 10049604
Formerly
Coal Clough High School

Where these figures come from