The Bulwell Academy
- Secondary
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages 11 to 18
URN 145952 · Nottingham · CREATIVE EDUCATION TRUST
Inspection
Ofsted management information, as at 30 September 2026.
Latest report card inspection
12 May 2026- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding standards
- Met
Full inspection (section 5)
Report cards, used from 10 November 2025, grade each area on a five-point scale and give no overall grade. Safeguarding is met or not met.
Earlier inspection, different framework
Earlier graded inspection
19 March 2024Overall effectiveness
Requires improvement
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding is effective
- Yes
Schools into Special Measures Visit 2
Under the earlier framework, inspections gave an overall effectiveness grade.
Read the reports on Ofsted’s website. Source: Ofsted, State-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information.
Attendance
Against Nottingham and England, secondary schools.
Overall absence
2024/2511.0%
- Nottingham
- 8.9%
- England
- 8.4%
2.6 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 8.2% | 5.4% | 5.5% |
| 2018/19 | 7.4% | 5.4% | 5.5% |
| 2020/21 | 9.7% | 6.3% | 5.5% |
| 2021/22 | 12.4% | 8.9% | 9.0% |
| 2022/23 | 14.2% | 9.7% | 9.0% |
| 2023/24 | 13.9% | 9.4% | 8.9% |
| 2024/25 | 11.0% | 8.9% | 8.4% |
Sessions missed for any reason, as a share of all possible sessions in the school year. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Persistent absence
2024/2533.2%
- Nottingham
- 25.4%
- England
- 23.4%
9.8 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 26.0% | 14.8% | 13.9% |
| 2018/19 | 22.7% | 14.0% | 13.7% |
| 2020/21 | 29.9% | 17.6% | 14.8% |
| 2021/22 | 39.7% | 27.5% | 27.7% |
| 2022/23 | 42.2% | 29.3% | 26.5% |
| 2023/24 | 41.3% | 27.2% | 25.6% |
| 2024/25 | 33.2% | 25.4% | 23.4% |
Pupils who missed 10% or more of their possible sessions, as a share of pupils. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Severe absence
2024/256.3%
- Nottingham
- 4.5%
- England
- 3.9%
2.4 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | 3.0% | 1.0% | 1.2% |
| 2018/19 | 1.7% | 1.0% | 1.3% |
| 2020/21 | 3.0% | 1.8% | 1.5% |
| 2021/22 | 5.1% | 2.7% | 2.7% |
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 3.6% | 3.4% |
| 2023/24 | 8.0% | 4.2% | 3.8% |
| 2024/25 | 6.3% | 4.5% | 3.9% |
Pupils who missed 50% or more of their possible sessions, as a share of pupils. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Suspensions and permanent exclusions
Against Nottingham and England, secondary schools.
Suspensions per 100 pupils
2024/2537.54
- Nottingham
- 29.70
- England
- 21.24
16.30 higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 14.42 | 10.13 |
| 2018/19 | 35.81 | 19.20 | 10.75 |
| 2019/20 | 26.93 | 14.48 | 7.43 |
| 2020/21 | 105.97 | 26.95 | 8.48 |
| 2021/22 | 185.82 | 37.94 | 13.96 |
| 2022/23 | 186.22 | 40.10 | 18.90 |
| 2023/24 | 165.51 | 44.61 | 22.61 |
| 2024/25 | 37.54 | 29.70 | 21.24 |
Suspensions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. One pupil can be suspended more than once. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England, 2024/25.
Permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
2024/251.62
- Nottingham
- 0.61
- England
- 0.23
1.39 higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 0.29 | 0.20 |
| 2018/19 | 1.15 | 0.35 | 0.20 |
| 2019/20 | 0.71 | 0.33 | 0.13 |
| 2020/21 | 1.15 | 0.35 | 0.10 |
| 2021/22 | 0.95 | 0.40 | 0.16 |
| 2022/23 | 1.68 | 0.41 | 0.22 |
| 2023/24 | 2.52 | 0.68 | 0.25 |
| 2024/25 | 1.62 | 0.61 | 0.23 |
Permanent exclusions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England, 2024/25.
Key stage 4 results
Against Nottingham and England, secondary schools.
Attainment 8
2025/26 (provisional)39.6
- Nottingham
- 44.3
- England
- 47.4
7.8 lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 45.5 | 49.8 |
| 2022/23 | Not published | 43.3 | 47.2 |
| 2023/24 | 34.1 | 43.0 | 46.9 |
| 2024/25 | 36.1 | 44.0 | 47.1 |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | 39.6 | 44.3 | 47.4 |
The average of pupils' points across eight GCSE-level qualifications, with English and maths counted twice. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26.
English and maths: grade 4 or above
2025/26 (provisional)58%
- Nottingham
- 61%
- England
- 66%
8 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 63% | 70% |
| 2022/23 | Not published | 58% | 67% |
| 2023/24 | 48% | 60% | 67% |
| 2024/25 | 47% | 61% | 66% |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | 58% | 61% | 66% |
Pupils at the end of key stage 4 with grade 4 or above in both English and maths. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26.
English and maths: grade 5 or above
2025/26 (provisional)39%
- Nottingham
- 43%
- England
- 48%
9 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 42% | 51% |
| 2022/23 | Not published | 36% | 46% |
| 2023/24 | 26% | 39% | 47% |
| 2024/25 | 29% | 41% | 47% |
| 2025/26 (provisional) | 39% | 43% | 48% |
Pupils at the end of key stage 4 with grade 5 or above in both English and maths. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26.
Pupils
Against Nottingham and England, secondary schools.
Eligible for free school meals
2024/2551.1%
- Nottingham
- 40.1%
- England
- 25.8%
25.3 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 43.6% | 35.2% | 20.9% |
| 2022/23 | 47.6% | 37.1% | 22.7% |
| 2023/24 | 51.5% | 37.9% | 24.1% |
| 2024/25 | 51.1% | 40.1% | 25.8% |
Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals on census day in January. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
SEN support
2024/2520.8%
- Nottingham
- 13.5%
- England
- 13.4%
7.4 percentage points higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 11.4% | 13.1% | 11.9% |
| 2022/23 | 16.3% | 12.8% | 12.4% |
| 2023/24 | 19.9% | 13.5% | 12.9% |
| 2024/25 | 20.8% | 13.5% | 13.4% |
Pupils receiving special educational needs support without an education, health and care plan. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
Education, health and care plan
2024/251.2%
- Nottingham
- 1.2%
- England
- 3.1%
1.9 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 0.8% | 0.9% | 2.2% |
| 2022/23 | 0.7% | 0.9% | 2.4% |
| 2023/24 | 0.9% | 1.2% | 2.7% |
| 2024/25 | 1.2% | 1.2% | 3.1% |
Pupils with an education, health and care plan. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
First language other than English
2024/2513.8%
- Nottingham
- 34.6%
- England
- 19.2%
5.4 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | 8.8% | 29.9% | 17.5% |
| 2022/23 | 8.7% | 31.7% | 18.1% |
| 2023/24 | 11.0% | 33.4% | 18.6% |
| 2024/25 | 13.8% | 34.6% | 19.2% |
Pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
Teachers
Against Nottingham and England, secondary schools.
Pupils per qualified teacher
2025/2622.3
- Nottingham
- 17.4
- England
- 17.3
5.0 higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 13.6 | 16.5 |
| 2018/19 | 17.9 | 15.7 | 16.8 |
| 2019/20 | 19.1 | 16.3 | 17.2 |
| 2020/21 | 17.0 | 17.5 | 17.1 |
| 2021/22 | 18.7 | 17.3 | 17.1 |
| 2022/23 | 18.6 | 17.0 | 17.2 |
| 2023/24 | 19.3 | 18.5 | 17.4 |
| 2024/25 | 20.1 | 17.9 | 17.3 |
| 2025/26 | 22.3 | 17.4 | 17.3 |
Full-time equivalent pupils for each full-time equivalent qualified teacher. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, School workforce in England, 2025/26.
Teacher sickness absence
2024/258.9 days
- Nottingham
- 5.4 days
- England
- 5.0 days
3.9 days higher than England.
Compared with all state-funded schools: DfE publishes this measure for all schools, not by phase.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Nottingham | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 5.0 days | 4.0 days |
| 2018/19 | 0.0 days | 3.7 days | 4.0 days |
| 2019/20 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| 2020/21 | 0.0 days | 4.2 days | 3.9 days |
| 2021/22 | 7.0 days | 6.3 days | 6.3 days |
| 2022/23 | 9.0 days | 5.0 days | 5.2 days |
| 2023/24 | 5.7 days | 5.3 days | 5.3 days |
| 2024/25 | 8.9 days | 5.4 days | 5.0 days |
Days lost to sickness absence in the school year, averaged across all teachers. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, School workforce in England, 2024/25.
Finance
Academies report their accounts as part of their trust, so DfE publishes no school-level balance for this school. The trust’s figures are in DfE’s Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool.
See this school in the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool
About the school
- Pupils on roll
- 1,051
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Phase
- Secondary
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Sixth form
- Has a sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CREATIVE EDUCATION TRUST
- Opened
- 1 May 2018
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Constituency
- Nottingham North and Kimberley
- Deprivation of the area (IDACI)
- Decile 1 of 10 (1 is the most deprived tenth of neighbourhoods)
Sources and corrections
Every figure on this page names its source and period. This release was built on 20 October 2026.
- Department for Education: Get Information about Schools: establishment data (GIAS establishment extract 2026-10-20)
- Ofsted: State-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information (Latest inspections as at 2026-09-30; All inspections, 2018/19; All inspections, 2019/20; All inspections, 2020/21; All inspections, 2021/22; All inspections, 2022/23; All inspections, 2023/24; All inspections, 2024/25; All inspections, 2025/26)
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Pupil absence in schools in England (absence-3term-school, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England (exc-school, 2006/07 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-ap-school, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-geography, 2006/07 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-ap-geography, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Key stage 2 attainment (ks2-school, 2022/23 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; ks2-geography, 2015/16 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Key stage 4 performance (ks4-school, 2023/24 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; ks4-geography, 2018/19 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Schools, pupils and their characteristics (School census, January 2022 (performance tables, 2021 to 2022); School census, January 2023 (performance tables, 2022 to 2023); School census, January 2024 (performance tables, 2023 to 2024); School census, January 2025 (performance tables, 2024 to 2025))
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: School workforce in England (ptr-school, 2010/11 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; ptr-geography, 2010/11 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; sickness-school, 2009/10 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; sickness-geography, 2009/10 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: English indices of deprivation 2025: Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (English indices of deprivation 2025, File 7 (2021 LSOAs))
Spotted something wrong? Report a correction with the school’s URN (145952). Fixes go out in the next weekly release.