Sheep Dip Lane Academy

Sheep Dip Lane Academy is a primary academy within the Exceed Learning Partnership and was inspected in November 2024. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first inspection under section 5; under the current framework, no overall effectiveness grade was given. Inspectors found a calm, kind and consistent school where pupils feel safe, trust adults and behave exceptionally well. Pupils, including those with SEND, are well supported and achieve well, and the school has high expectations for learning, behaviour and experiences.

Strengths

• Pupils behave in an exemplary way in lessons and around school.
• Pupils have exceptional attitudes to learning, beginning in the early years.
• Pupils with SEND are quickly identified and very well supported.
• The curriculum is ambitious and carefully considers knowledge and vocabulary at each stage.
• The early years curriculum is well structured and gives children a positive start.
• Reading and phonics are a priority, with a carefully structured and consistently taught programme.
• Personal development is exceptionally strong, with a wide range of opportunities and experiences.
• Attendance has improved and persistent absence has decreased.
• Leaders at all levels share a clear goal to improve pupils’ life chances.
• Parents speak very positively about the school.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, activities are not designed well enough to deepen and extend pupils’ learning.
• Some pupils do not fully achieve the ambitious objectives in the curriculum because tasks are not sufficiently well matched.
• Staff need further subject knowledge and skills to design tasks that give pupils the best chance to learn the curriculum well.

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 Sheep Dip Lane Academy attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.3% 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, 0.8% of pupils at Sheep Dip Lane 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 Sheep Dip Lane Academy had 22.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.9% 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, 25.4% of pupils at Sheep Dip Lane Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.5% 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 Sheep Dip Lane Academy received £8,429 and spent £8,029 for each of its 233 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £227,000 (£976 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Exceed Learning Partnership, income was £7,056 and spending £6,961 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

Sheep Dip Lane Academy is part of Exceed Learning Partnership, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Sandringham Primary School Doncaster
• Hall Cross Academy Doncaster
• Bentley High Street Primary School Doncaster
• Willow Primary School Doncaster
• Rosedale Primary School Doncaster
• Carr Lodge Academy Doncaster
• The Mallard Academy Doncaster
• Edlington Victoria Academy Doncaster
• Hill Top Academy Doncaster

What is Sheep Dip Lane Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sheep Dip Lane Academy is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Sheep Dip Lane Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Sheep Dip Lane Academy was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Sheep Dip Lane Academy have?

Sheep Dip Lane Academy has 256 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sheep Dip Lane Academy cover?

Sheep Dip Lane Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Sheep Dip Lane Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 76% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sheep Dip Lane Academy?

Sheep Dip Lane Academy is at Sheep Dip Lane, Dunscroft, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN7 4AU.