School Chooser

Elements Academy

Special · ages 7-16MixedFree school170 pupilsSheffieldRotherham
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, February 2025
Strong pass in English and maths0%England 46%
Attendance62.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families69%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull170 pupils, 140 places
Pupils per teacher6.8School workforce census

Elements Academy is a special free school in Sheffield for boys and girls aged 7 to 16. It has 170 pupils, 30 more than it has places for. About 69 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.

Doe Quarry Lane, Dinnington, Sheffield, S25 2NF01909 212231elementsacademy.uk.comMr Paul Farr headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 4 February 2025, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Requires improvement
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Requires improvement
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Requires improvement
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Requires improvement
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

34 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

Average GCSE score2.1
England 46.8
Official name: Attainment 8
Strong pass in English and maths0%
England 46%
Official name: Grade 5+ in English and maths
Standard pass in English and maths3%
England 66%
Official name: Grade 4+ in English and maths
Progress from age 11-2.53In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level. (From 2023/24, the latest year there is. The government didn't work it out for the 2025 year group.)Official name: Progress 8
Trend
Average GCSE score
2023 to 2025
2023: 7.27.220232024: 5.35.320242025: 2.12.12025
Since 2023: -5.1
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023RotherhamEngland
Pupils at the end of Year 11343617
Average GCSE scoreAttainment 82.15.37.242.446.8
Progress from age 11Progress 8-2.53-1.83
Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths0%6%0%38%46%
Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths3%6%0%58%66%
Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score0.160.440.543.584.15
Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry0%0%0%28%41%
Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged1.63.87.5
Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged3.810.66.5
Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers2.16.3

Subjects

Results came out for 2 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.

What is taught here

The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.

Every subject against England, 2025
SubjectEntriesGrades 9 to 7Grades 9 to 5Grades 9 to 4England 9 to 5Rank in England
Mathematics90%0%11%53%
English Language60%33%33%54%

In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.

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 score90.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score88.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2023 to 2025
2023: 0%0%20232024: 0%0%20242025: 0%0%2025
Since 2023: +0%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023RotherhamEngland
Pupils tested91416
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%6%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score90.094.090.0104.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score88.095.088.0103.6104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score93.092.089.0103.9105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard0%7%0%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard0%14%0%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)0%0%0%
Reading progressReading progress score-12.1

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.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At GCSE, 2025

Average GCSE scoreLow-income pupils vs other pupils
1.63.8
Gap 2.2England 12.2
Strong pass in English and mathsLow-income pupils vs other pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 22 pts
Average GCSE scoreBoys vs girls
1.72.9
Gap 1.2England 3.0
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

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

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll170Census January 2026
Places140121% full
Pupils from low-income families69%69% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English2%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%170 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)67%£133,100 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls140 / 30
White British pupils87%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Rotherham with social, emotional and mental health provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (118), Autistic spectrum disorder (16), language and communications needs (13), Moderate learning difficulty (11), Other difficulty or disability (4), Physical disability (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census2026202520242023
Pupils on roll170174170131
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals69%71%65%64%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language2%3%2%2%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%2%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%98%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 62.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance62.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school75.4%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils142.52024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission14.3%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/22England
Sessions missedOverall absence37.3%39.8%21.6%19.4%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence23.1%29.5%11.4%11.9%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence14.3%10.3%10.2%7.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence75.4%80.2%63.6%63.8%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate142.581.277.9
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions000

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 17 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training53%and stayed there for at least six months

Among pupils from low-income families it was 64%, compared with 33% for everyone else.

Staff and money

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

Teachers25.0full-time equivalent, 27 people
Pupils per teacher6.8Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers96%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants26.9full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£53,253
Teachers who left in the year22%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher19.62024/25

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£27,126England £30,720. Total £4.7m
Income per pupil£32,805England £33,526. Total £5.7m
Spent on teachers per pupil£9,052England £11,966
Money in reserve13%A healthy amount put by: £744k, £4,279 per pupil. England 16%
Money in against money out+£988kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£27,126spent 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 m49512 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate120 per 1,000 people31% higher than the England average
Typical house price£190,000Rotherham
Nearest bus stop50 mDoe Quarry Lane/Dinnington Junior School, 18 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
Dinnington Community Primary SchoolAcademy100 m184Requires improvement 20242Compare
Dinnington High SchoolAcademy200 m1,005Requires improvement 202310Compare
St Joseph's Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy590 m141Good 202110Compare
EDClass LtdOnline provider0.6 milesNot inspectedCompare
Anston Greenlands Primary SchoolAcademy0.9 miles211Good 202365Compare
Anston Park Infant SchoolAcademy0.9 miles155Good 202250Compare
Anston Park Junior SchoolAcademy0.9 miles206Requires improvement 20231Compare
Laughton Junior and Infant SchoolAcademy1.0 miles188Good 202330Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Elements Academy a good school?

Elements Academy doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it not judged at its last inspection in February 2025.

What is Elements Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Elements Academy not judged at its last full inspection on 4 February 2025.

How good are Elements Academy's GCSE results?

In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 2.1, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.

How good are Elements Academy'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 Elements Academy have?

170 pupils aged 7 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 140 places, so it is 121% full.

What is attendance like at Elements Academy?

Pupils were in school 62.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 75% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Elements Academy have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for social, emotional and mental health. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

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

Contact and details

Address
Doe Quarry Lane, Dinnington, Sheffield, S25 2NF
Telephone
01909 212231
Website
www.elementsacademy.uk.com
Headteacher
Mr Paul Farr
Type of school
Special free school (Free schools special, free schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 7-16
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Multi-academy trust
Ethos Academy Trust (6 schools)
Local authority
Rotherham
Ward
Dinnington
Constituency
Rother Valley
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 2022 (new provision)
URN
149188 · LAESTAB 3727004 · UKPRN 10090867

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from