Rowena Academy

Rowena Academy is a good school overall, with outstanding personal development and early years provision and good quality of education, behaviour and leadership. Pupils enjoy school, feel safe and show warm relationships, respect and maturity; behaviour expectations are exceptionally high and pupils achieve well. The school is part of Delta Academies Trust and this was its first routine inspection since the pandemic; the head of academy is new since the previous inspection. The curriculum builds knowledge over time, phonics and reading are taught consistently well, and SEND resources are adapted effectively. Early years provision is highly ambitious and prepares children exceptionally well for Year 1, while personal development is exemplary through debate, community links and leadership opportunities. Leaders, governors and trustees know the school well, staff feel supported, and safeguarding is effective. The main areas for improvement are in key stage 1 writing, where pupils are not given enough opportunities to secure basic skills such as grammar, punctuation, handwriting and presentation, and in a small number of lessons where tasks do not match the intended curriculum, limiting pupils' chances to record their understanding. Attendance is improving but remains a continuing focus.

Strengths

• Warm, respectful relationships create a safe and supportive environment.
• Pupils behave maturely, show exceptional focus and embrace consistent routines.
• Personal development is exemplary, including British values, community links and pupil leadership.
• Early years provision is highly ambitious and prepares children exceptionally well for Year 1.
• Phonics and reading are taught consistently well, with effective interventions and a strong love of books.
• The curriculum builds learning over time and SEND resources are adapted effectively.
• Leaders, governors and trustees know the school's strengths and next steps well.
• Staff feel positive and well supported, and safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In key stage 1, the writing curriculum is not implemented sufficiently well for pupils to develop basic skills in grammar, punctuation and handwriting.
• Pupils are not consistently able to write fluently, neatly and with accuracy or take pride in presentation.
• In a small number of lessons, learning tasks and activities do not match the intended curriculum, so pupils cannot record their understanding well enough.
• Attendance is improving but the school needs to continue work to ensure all pupils attend regularly and on time.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Rowena Academy attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Rowena Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Rowena Academy had 19.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.4% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 9.3% of pupils at Rowena Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Rowena Academy received £7,427 and spent £7,240 for each of its 225 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £348,000 (£1,548 per pupil).

Across all 62 schools of Delta Academies Trust, income was £7,459 and spending £7,562 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Doncaster · Doncaster local authority: places and applications

Rowena Academy is part of Delta Academies Trust, which runs 62 schools. The nearest others:

• De Warenne Academy Doncaster
• Morley Place Academy Doncaster
• Montagu Academy Mexborough
• The Laurel Academy Mexborough
• Goldthorpe Primary Academy Rotherham
• Don Valley Academy Doncaster
• Highfields Primary Academy Doncaster
• Pheasant Bank Academy Doncaster
• Grange Lane Infant Academy Doncaster
• Rossington All Saints Academy Doncaster

What is Rowena Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Rowena Academy is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Rowena Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Rowena Academy was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Rowena Academy have?

Rowena Academy has 246 pupils on roll.

What age range does Rowena Academy cover?

Rowena Academy for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Rowena Academy?

Rowena Academy is at Gardens Lane, Conisbrough, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN12 3JY.