Haven High Academy Review 2026: Two-Campus Secondary in Boston, Focused on Improvement

Year 7 begins life on a separate site, while older year groups learn on the main campus. That two-campus model shapes the day-to-day experience, especially for families managing the jump from primary to secondary. Haven High Academy also sits in a period of rapid change. A graded inspection in July 2024 resulted in an Inadequate judgement and formal special measures, followed by a monitoring inspection in September 2025 that described progress on behaviour, attendance, and early curriculum work, while making clear that further improvement is still required.

For parents, the most useful way to read Haven High is as a large community secondary that is rebuilding consistency, routines, and trust. Academic outcomes remain a work in progress when set against England benchmarks, but the improvement plan has practical, visible priorities, including clearer routines, stronger attendance work, more consistent classroom practice, and better identification of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

This is a state school with no tuition fees. Families should still budget for uniform, transport, equipment, and optional extras such as trips or instrumental tuition where applicable.

The academy’s public messaging is deliberately direct, with repeated emphasis on high expectations, hard work, and a calm climate for learning. That tone aligns with the improvement priorities described in official monitoring.

Leadership is structured with an executive headteacher and a head of school, supported by a wider senior leadership team and heads of faculty. This matters because consistency in routines and communication is often a decisive factor for families when a school is improving. The executive headteacher is Austin Sheppard, and the school also names a head of school, alongside deputies and assistant headteachers with specific responsibilities including SEND and attendance.

The July 2024 inspection also notes significant leadership change, including an executive headteacher joining in June 2024 and further senior appointments. For families, the implication is that policies and systems may continue to evolve, particularly around behaviour routines, attendance processes, and curriculum sequencing.

Safeguarding is a clear stabiliser in the picture. The July 2024 inspection states that safeguarding arrangements were effective. That is an important baseline in a school working through wider improvement priorities.

Haven High Academy is ranked 3,743rd in England for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking based on official data), and 4th among secondary schools in the Boston local area on the same measure.

That ranking position places outcomes below England average overall, within the lower-performing portion of schools in England (60th to 100th percentile). The practical implication is that families should expect the school to be focused on strengthening core learning habits and closing knowledge gaps, rather than relying on historically strong headline outcomes.

The available GCSE measures underline this improvement challenge:

• Attainment 8 score is 31.3.

• Progress 8 is -0.65, indicating that, on average, students make less progress than similar students nationally from their starting points.

The July 2024 inspection narrative is consistent with these outcomes, describing uneven curriculum delivery, gaps in teaching expertise across subjects, and missed learning linked to attendance and suspension patterns. The September 2025 monitoring letter then points to strengthened routines and improving attendance, alongside early-stage curriculum design work that still needs to become more precise and embedded across subjects.

Parents comparing local options should use the FindMySchool local hub and comparison tools to view results side by side with nearby schools, particularly when weighing Progress 8 patterns and any change over time.

Curriculum structure is a central improvement lever here. The September 2025 monitoring letter describes work to evaluate curriculum content across subjects and to strengthen sequencing of knowledge and vocabulary, while also noting that, in many subjects, this work was still early stage.

What this means in practice is that the academy is aiming for greater consistency in what is taught, when it is taught, and how teachers check learning. It is also implementing shared teaching strategies designed to help teachers identify gaps and reinforce key knowledge, with routines for checking recall becoming more common but not yet consistently effective.

Home learning is supported through Knowledge Organisers. For students, this approach can make revision more concrete, particularly where classroom routines are also aligned to retrieval practice and regular checking of understanding. For parents, it provides a clearer way to support study at home without guessing what knowledge is essential.

Reading is another stated priority. The monitoring letter describes assessment of reading ability and targeted support for fluency and confidence, while also identifying the need for greater precision so that support matches students’ needs at the right time.

Haven High Academy serves students up to age 16, so the core destination question is post-16 progression. The July 2024 inspection notes a careers programme and that Year 10 students can undertake work experience. For families, this signals that employability and next-step planning is part of the broader personal development offer, which is particularly relevant in a school focused on rebuilding strong learning habits and qualifications outcomes.

The school also sits within a trust structure that is expected to support improvement through shared expertise and partnership working, which can influence post-16 guidance, employer engagement, and links to technical routes.

Admissions for Year 7 are coordinated through the local authority, using the published admissions timetable for secondary applications. For September 2026 entry, Lincolnshire’s published timetable shows applications opening on 8 September 2025 and closing on 31 October 2025, with a later window for late applications and changes.

The academy’s published admission number for Year 7 is 255.

If the academy is oversubscribed, the priority order begins with looked after and previously looked after children, then siblings, then distance from home to the relevant academy site using a straight-line measure. The admissions policy also describes a lottery tie-break administered independently if distance cannot separate applicants for the final place.

Because the Year 7 site is distinct, families should note the campus arrangement stated in the admissions policy, with Year 7 based at Tollfield and older students based at Marian.

Parents who are trying to understand whether distance may be decisive can use the FindMySchool Map Search to check their measured distance, then monitor local authority guidance each year, since offers depend on applicant patterns and school capacity in that cycle.

Pastoral structures are visible and role-specific. The academy publishes a detailed staff list including heads of year, pastoral leads, educational welfare roles, and a family liaison officer, which suggests an intent to make support routes clear to students and parents.

One distinctive element is the Girls on Board approach, which the academy describes as a structured way to help girls understand and manage friendship dynamics, with reflective sessions designed to build empathy and resolution skills. This type of intervention can be particularly valuable in a school working to improve behaviour consistency, because it targets relational conflict before it becomes repeated disruption.

Attendance is treated as a front-line improvement priority. The academy publishes punctuality expectations and references a free breakfast club opening at 8.00am, with guidance for students to be on site ahead of lessons.

SEND leadership is also clearly signposted, with a named assistant headteacher who is also SENDCo, alongside wider SEN information and improvement work described in the September 2025 monitoring letter. That monitoring letter indicates better identification processes and additional staff training, while also noting that information to support classroom adaptation is not always detailed enough and that some staff still need stronger expertise in adapting learning.

A useful indicator of practical support for learning is the Homework Club, which the academy has run in the Learning Hub after school, explicitly framed as a place for help, quiet study, and access to computers. For families, the implication is straightforward: students who struggle to work effectively at home, or who need consistent routines, have a structured on-site option that reinforces independent study.

Performing arts also shows a concrete offer. The academy publishes a weekly Drama Club for Year 7, held at lunchtime, designed to maintain regular drama time alongside a rotating curriculum model. This is a good example of how extracurriculars can be used to protect breadth when timetable constraints exist.

Sport appears frequently in school communications, including competitive success and participation. Recent news items highlight achievements such as a girls’ basketball team winning a local competition, which signals that team sport can be a real anchor for students who engage best through structured training and competition.

Financial support for enrichment is also relevant. The pupil premium information lists practical supports such as subsidised trips, workshop and theatre performances, free instrumental tuition, and free places for after-school enrichment clubs. For eligible families, this can widen access to activities that otherwise become optional extras.

STEM

STEM enrichment is referenced in curriculum statements, including participation in STEM clubs and enrichment events designed to link learning across subjects. For students, the value is often in building confidence through applied problem-solving and extended projects, particularly when classroom learning routines are being strengthened.

The published school day runs from 8:45am to 3:15pm, with a weekly total of 32.5 hours from official start to end including breaks and lunch. Timings vary slightly by year group, with a clear expectation that students arrive early enough for tutor time routines.

Attendance guidance also highlights a free breakfast club from 8.00am, which can be an important practical support for punctuality and readiness to learn.

For travel, the academy publishes bus and parent parking guidance, including advice that Tollfield Road is busy at peak times and suggestions for nearby drop-off locations.

• Inspection profile and special measures. The July 2024 graded inspection judged the academy Inadequate with special measures. A September 2025 monitoring inspection described progress, but also set clear expectations for further improvement, particularly around curriculum precision and consistent teaching routines.

• Outcomes remain below England average. The FindMySchool GCSE ranking places the academy below England average overall, and the Progress 8 score of -0.65 indicates below-average progress from students’ starting points. Families should ask detailed questions about how subject teaching is being strengthened year to year.

• Two-campus logistics. Year 7 is based at Tollfield, with older students based at Marian. This can be helpful for transition, but it also adds practical considerations for siblings, transport, and after-school routines.

Haven High Academy is a large, state-funded secondary serving Boston, operating through an intensive improvement phase with clearer routines, strengthened attendance work, and early-stage curriculum redesign. Academic outcomes remain a challenge compared with England benchmarks, but official monitoring indicates tangible progress in behaviour and attendance alongside a more structured approach to teaching and learning.

Best suited to families seeking a local, comprehensive secondary that is rebuilding consistency and who value practical academic support such as structured homework provision, attendance routines, and a visible pastoral framework. The key decision point is confidence in the pace and sustainability of improvement over the next few years.