Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #58 in Doncaster public Top 42% UK

Highwoods Academy

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMr Paul Rust

corporate_fareEMPOWERING MINDS ACADEMY TRUST

location_onMexborough, S64 9ES

language Visit Website phone 1709583273

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2021

groups

Students

211

school

Expected Standard

67%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

0.9x

summarize

Highwoods Academy is a Academy converter primary school in Mexborough, serving ages 3-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 42% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Highwoods Academy is an academy converter in Mexborough, Doncaster, admitting pupils aged 3-11. It is part of EMPOWERING MINDS ACADEMY TRUST. The school has approximately 201 pupils on roll, of whom 51% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 67% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 5% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #58 of 87 primaries in Doncaster and #8,223 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2021. The school's current overall rating is Good. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 0.9× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 26.9:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 5.6 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

67%

LA 61%

Reading86% LA 72%

Writing71% LA 70%

Maths76% LA 73%

Read SS

111

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

110

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

66%

LA 57%England 61%

Reading76% LA 68% · Eng 74%

Writing76% LA 69% · Eng 72%

Maths69% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

103

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

62%

LA 54%England 60%

Reading65% LA 68% · Eng 73%

Writing77% LA 67% · Eng 71%

Maths77% LA 69% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

0.7

Read

LA -0.9

-1.7 to 3.1

4.2

Write

LA -0.4

1.9 to 6.5

1.3

Maths

LA -0.5

-1.0 to 3.5

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

71%

LA 59%England 65%

Reading79% LA 66% · Eng 73%

Writing82% LA 77% · Eng 78%

Maths82% LA 76% · Eng 79%

Read SS

105

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

3.7

Read

LA -1.2

1.4 to 6.0

3.6

Write

LA 0.0

1.4 to 5.7

2.8

Maths

LA -0.3

0.8 to 4.9

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

54%

LA 59%

Reading57% LA 68%

Writing82% LA 75%

Maths79% LA 71%

Read SS

101

Maths SS

105

GPS SS

101

Progress (0 = national avg)

-2

Read

LA -0.9

-4.3 to 0.3

2.3

Write

LA 0.0

0.2 to 4.4

2.8

Maths

LA -0.3

0.8 to 4.8

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

23 November 2021

Inspection Report

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06 June 2017

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2021-11-23

S5 Inspection EIF

Good

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2017-03-16

Maintained Academy and School Short inspection EIF

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

2012-09-25

None EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

gavel

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

4.5%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

2.5%(5 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 201 pupils. During this period, there were 9 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 4.5%, which is above the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	201	9	4.5%	0.8%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	196	13	6.6%	0.9%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	212	10	4.7%	0.8%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	213	7	3.3%	0.7%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	208	7	3.4%	0.8%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	218	3	1.4%	0.7%	1
2022/23 (Spring term)	211	4	1.9%	0.6%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	199	1	0.5%	0.6%	0
2021/22 (Summer term)	205	2	1.0%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	202	1	0.5%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	203	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	211	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	203	0	0.0%	0.1%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	196	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	193	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	193	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	197	1	0.5%	0.6%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	204	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	208	2	1.0%	0.5%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	208	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	217	1	0.5%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	218	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	213	0	0.0%	0.5%	0

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 9 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 8 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 7 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 2 pupils

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Highwoods Academy

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Distance to School

School Capacity

Primary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Primary Schools in Doncaster

Intake Primary Academy

Montagu Academy

Willow Primary School

Warmsworth Primary School

Bentley High Street Primary School

Pheasant Bank Academy