SCHOOL PROFILE

Highwoods Academy

Primary Academy converter URN 144539
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 262 Published school capacity
Capacity used 75.6% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest inspection

28 April 2026
Latest published outcome Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Strong standard
Curriculum & teaching Strong standard
Achievement Expected standard
Attendance & behaviour Expected standard
Personal development Strong standard
Leadership & governance Expected standard
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

23 November 2021
Graded inspection Good
Published 16 January 2022
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Does not apply
Local authority Doncaster
Trust EMPOWERING MINDS ACADEMY TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 198 179 full-time · 19 part-time
Female pupils 101 51.0% of pupils
Male pupils 97 49.0% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

47.5%
22.7 pts above England
School 47.5%
Doncaster 29.1%
Yorkshire and The Humber 27.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

12.1%
8.2 pts below England
School 12.1%
Doncaster 15.2%
Yorkshire and The Humber 17.9%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Doncaster 0.2%
Yorkshire and The Humber 0.4%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
83.8%
166
Any other White background
5.6%
11
Unclassified
2.5%
5
African
2.0%
4
Any other ethnic group
1.5%
3
Any other Asian background
1.0%
2
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 17.2% 34 of 198 pupils
3.7 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 17.2%
Doncaster 19.0%
Yorkshire and The Humber 20.9%
England 20.8%
SEN support 15.7% 31 pupils
England 14.8% 0.9 pts above
EHC plans 1.5% 3 pupils
England 6.0% 4.5 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health 10
Specific learning difficulty 10
Speech, language & communication 10
Moderate learning difficulty 2
Autistic spectrum disorder 1
Vision impairment 1

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

67.0% 6.6 pts above England
School 67.0%
Doncaster 61.0%
Yorkshire and The Humber 60.2%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

86.0%

12.2 pts above England

School 86.0%
Doncaster 72.0%
Yorkshire and The Humber 72.8%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

71.0%

0.7 pts above England

School 71.0%
Doncaster 70.4%
Yorkshire and The Humber 70.2%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

76.0%

4.0 pts above England

School 76.0%
Doncaster 72.5%
Yorkshire and The Humber 71.9%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

6.38%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

0.16 pts higher than England
School 6.38%
Doncaster 6.00%
Yorkshire and The Humber 6.13%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

17.90%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

2.09 pts higher than England
School 17.90%
Doncaster 16.15%
Yorkshire and The Humber 15.55%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.62%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.19 pts lower than England
School 0.62%
Doncaster 1.51%
Yorkshire and The Humber 1.77%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

75.6% 12.6 pts below England
Highwoods Academy
75.6%
Doncaster
89.7%
Yorkshire and The Humber
88.6%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information