Widnes Academy

What Widnes Academy does

Widnes Academy is a state-funded primary school located in the West Bank area of Widnes, UK, operating as part of the Wade Deacon Trust multi-academy trust. The school serves children from Nursery through Year 6 (ages 3–11) with a Planned Admission Number (PAN) of 20 pupils per year group, implying a maximum roll of approximately 140 pupils plus nursery intake. The school is led by Head Teacher Mrs Hannah Gillespie and operates with approximately 7 listed employees.

Curriculum delivery is built on the Cornerstones curriculum framework, supplemented by third-party digital learning tools including Reading Eggs, Times Table Rock Stars, and other online platforms. The school delivers a full primary curriculum covering core subjects (English, Maths, Science), foundation subjects, PSHE, and offers wraparound care through before/after-school provision and paid peripatetic music lessons.

The business model is that of a publicly-funded UK academy: the school receives per-pupil funding via the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) through the national funding formula, supplemented by modest parental contributions through optional paid services (music lessons, wraparound care, school events). The school holds a GOOD Ofsted rating (2023) and has accumulated multiple awards (Wellbeing Award 2023, national engagement award 2025, TEP Awards for Reading/Phonics 2026). No commercial revenue, product sales, or external customer base exists beyond the local parent community in catchment.

Name

Widnes Academy

Legal name

Widnes Academy

Website

https://widnesacademy.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Widnes Academy is a UK state-funded primary school serving children ages 3–11 in Widnes, part of the Wade Deacon Trust multi-academy trust, with a Planned Admission Number of 20 pupils per year group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Primary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAJABAA

Nonsectarian Independent Day Schools

Education/K–12 / Primary & Secondary Education/Private & Independent K–12 Schools

Keywords

• Primary education
• Early years learning
• National curriculum
• Primary school
• Child safeguarding

Headquarters

HQ city

Widnes

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Widnes Academy is a mainstream primary school delivering full-time education from Nursery (age 3) through Year 6 (age 11) across five mixed-age classes. The school delivers a broad and balanced curriculum aligned with the National Curriculum, supplemented by optional paid extras such as before/after school clubs and school trips (with payment plans available).

Product overview

Widnes Academy is a mainstream primary school within the Wade Deacon Trust, offering education from Nursery (age 3) through to Year 6. The school's core educational product is its primary education service, supported by a portfolio of digital learning platforms and curriculum resources. Key digital products include the Maths No Problem mastery programme for mathematics, the Literary Leaves guided reading scheme for English, the Phonics Bug validated phonics programme, and the Charanga/Sparkyard music curriculum. Additional learning tools include Reading Eggs (online reading), Times Table Rock Stars (times tables practice), Letter Join (handwriting), Complete PE (physical education planning), and the Kapow PSHE/RSE and Design Technology schemes. The school also integrates BBC Bitesize as a third-party educational resource for home learning. These products work together to deliver a comprehensive, metacognition-driven curriculum focused on developing independent, confident learners with high aspirations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Widnes Academy Primary Education Full-time primary education from Nursery (age 3) through to Year 6 (age 11), offering a broad and balanced curriculum aligned with the National Curriculum across five classes (Nightingale EYFS, Armstrong Years 1-2, Jemison Year 3, Malala Years 4-5, Attenborough Years 5-6). Includes academic instruction, personal development, safeguarding, SEND support, and extra-curricular activities. Targeted at families in Widnes and the West Bank area.
• Before and After School Clubs Optional paid wraparound care provision providing before- and after-school activities for pupils, supporting working families' childcare needs.
• School Trips and Educational Visits Optional paid educational trips and visits with payment plans available through the school office to spread costs. Includes visits to partners such as Chester Zoo and other curriculum-linked destinations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Children in school for 32.5 hours per week
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wade Deacon TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWidnes Academy is a member academy within the Wade Deacon Trust multi-academy trust. The trust provides strategic oversight, admissions consultation, policy frameworks, and support services including training programmes, teaching school initiatives, and HR/financial services. The trust is led from Wade Deacon High School, Birchfield Road.
• Cheshire Police Force - Operation EncompasscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOperation Encompass is a police and education early information sharing partnership enabling schools to receive immediate notification from police when a domestic abuse incident has occurred at a child's home. The school's Safeguarding Lead (DSL) receives this information prior to the start of the next school day to enable appropriate support.
• National Children's Bureau (NCB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the Wellbeing Award for Schools, developed in collaboration with NCB. The award helps schools prepare and equip themselves to promote emotional wellbeing and positive mental health across the whole-school community with a focus on creating a mentally healthy school culture.
• Halton School Attendance ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with local authority attendance services for monitoring and supporting pupils with persistent absence (over 10% of academic year). School works with the service when attendance concerns arise.
• Accent Music HubminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with Accent Music Hub to deliver individual music tuition to two Key Stage 2 classes, supporting the school's music curriculum and providing specialist instruction.
• External Personal Development ProvidersminorOthersVarious external providers supporting personal development curriculum including: Road Safety Team, The Magistrates Team, The Dog's Trust, Young Carers, NSPCC, Crucial Crew, Bikeability, and RNLI. Additionally, Year 6 children complete a first aid training award.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Oasis Community Learning: Large UK multi-academy trust operating a network of primary and secondary academies. Comparable as a broad incumbent that runs single-form-entry and small primary schools under a shared MAT structure with centralised services.
• Harris Federation: Major UK multi-academy trust operating primary and secondary academies across London and the South East. Comparable as a larger incumbent MAT that absorbs small primaries into a shared governance and curriculum structure.
• United Learning: Large UK multi-academy trust and independent schools group operating a national portfolio of primary academies. Comparable as a broad incumbent providing MAT-level services and curriculum frameworks to member primary schools.
• Ark (formerly Ark Schools): UK multi-academy trust operating a network of primary and secondary academies with a defined curriculum and central support model. Comparable as a broader incumbent MAT running small primary schools under shared frameworks.

Direct peers

• Grange Academy: Sibling primary academy within the same Wade Deacon Trust multi-academy trust operating under an identical funding, governance, and curriculum framework. Direct comparable in size, governance model, and target demographic in the Halton/North West England region.
• Reach Academy Feltham: Small UK all-through free school / academy operating from a single site with extended curriculum offer and community engagement emphasis. Comparable in size, mission orientation, and single-site operating model.
• Halewood Academy: Another Wade Deacon Trust primary academy sharing the same trust-level policies, admissions oversight, and shared services. Comparable in pupil age range, funding model, and curriculum approach as a fellow trust-member primary.

Others

• Twinkl: UK educational resources publisher widely used by primary schools including MAT members. Comparable as an adjacent enabling provider in the primary education resource ecosystem.
• Maths — No Problem: Publisher of the Singapore Maths/Teaching for Mastery scheme adopted school-wide at Widnes Academy. Comparable as a curriculum vendor whose commercial trajectory is linked to adoption by UK primary schools.
• Primary Languages Network: UK provider of primary Modern Foreign Languages curriculum and teacher training used by Widnes Academy for its French offer. Comparable as a curriculum supplier/adjacent provider in the primary education ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/widnes-academy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Widnes Academy