Yewlands Academy

Yewlands Academy is a secondary comprehensive school within Brigantia Learning Trust. Inspectors found that pupils feel safe and well cared for, with strong relationships with staff, and that personal development is a notable strength. The school has made significant curriculum improvements since its previous inspection, including a more ambitious and better-sequenced curriculum, effective SEND identification and support, improving attendance, and effective safeguarding. The trust and local governing body are closely involved and have suitable improvement priorities in place. A significant proportion of senior leaders are newly appointed, and the school serves above-average proportions of pupils with SEND and pupils eligible for pupil premium funding. However, pupils have not achieved as well as they should over time, and the school still requires improvement in the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management. Curriculum implementation is inconsistent across subjects: in some lessons, teachers do not check pupils' understanding deeply enough, and gaps or misconceptions are not consistently identified and addressed before new learning. Behaviour is not consistently managed because some staff do not apply the behaviour policy as intended, leading to occasional lesson disruption and poor behaviour at social times. Attendance is improving but remains a concern for pupils who do not attend regularly, as they achieve less well than their peers.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and well cared for, with strong relationships with trusted adults.
• The personal development programme is ambitious and effective, including enrichment, clubs, trips and careers guidance.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, with clear improvements since the previous inspection.
• Pupils with SEND are identified effectively and supported well, including for social, emotional and mental health needs.
• Early-stage readers receive additional support that helps some catch up quickly, and pupils read widely across subjects.
• Attendance is increasing due to raised expectations and tutor support for pupils and families.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Staff benefit from a comprehensive and targeted professional development programme.
• The trust and local governing body have suitable systems to check the school's work and appropriate improvement priorities.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils have not achieved as well as they should over time.
• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent across subjects.
• Some teaching does not question pupils deeply enough to check understanding.
• Gaps and misconceptions in pupils' learning are not consistently identified and addressed in some subjects.
• Some staff do not consistently apply the behaviour policy, leading to occasional lesson disruption.
• A few pupils do not behave as they should during social times.
• Some pupils do not attend regularly and achieve less well than their peers.
• Some pupils' knowledge does not build logically over time in certain subjects.

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 Yewlands Academy attended 89.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 31.3% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 14.4% of pupils at Yewlands Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 7 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 Yewlands Academy had 17.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 26.2% of pupils at Yewlands Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.6% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Yewlands Academy received £8,582 and spent £8,827 for each of its 919 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £577,000 (£628 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Brigantia Learning Trust Limited, income was £8,645 and spending £8,524 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 Sheffield · Sheffield local authority: places and applications

Yewlands Academy is part of Brigantia Learning Trust Limited, which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

• Longley Park Sixth Form Academy Sheffield
• Hinde House 2-16 Academy Sheffield
• Brigantia Hill Fort Academy Sheffield

What is Yewlands Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Yewlands Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Yewlands Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Yewlands Academy was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Yewlands Academy have?

Yewlands Academy has 884 pupils on roll.

What age range does Yewlands Academy cover?

Yewlands Academy for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Yewlands Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.9, and 37% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Yewlands Academy?

Yewlands Academy is at Creswick Lane, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S35 8NN.