Elements Academy

Elements Academy is a special school for pupils aged 7 to 16 with special educational needs and/or disabilities, mostly social, emotional and mental health needs, and all pupils have an EHC plan. This was its first routine section 5 inspection, and it took place during a period of change: the headteacher was absent, trust leaders were overseeing the school, and a recently formed interim management board was in place. Inspectors found the school requires improvement in all four key judgements, although safeguarding is effective and there are clear signs of improvement after trust-led reset of expectations. The school's strengths include a more coherent curriculum, a developing reading culture, strong pastoral care and effective careers guidance. Pupils benefit from calm, consistent behaviour management and therapeutic support, and trustees provide effective support and challenge. However, pupils do not achieve as well as they should. Teaching is not consistently strong, especially where staff teach outside their specialism, and learning is not consistently adapted to pupils' complex needs. Attendance and persistent absence remain serious concerns, and behaviour incidents requiring physical intervention are too frequent, though decreasing. Leaders need to improve staff subject knowledge and adaptive teaching, strengthen attendance work, and sharpen oversight and record-keeping for pupils on part-time timetables or alternative provision. Communication with parents and other stakeholders has suffered during turbulence and needs to improve, and some staff are concerned about workload. Overall, the school is moving in the right direction but still has significant work to do before provision is consistently good.

Strengths

• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Trust support has helped create an improved culture of learning.
• Subject curriculums across primary and secondary are increasingly well connected.
• Pupils develop mathematics skills progressively from Year 3 to Year 11.
• Pupils' creative writing skills develop well over their time in school.
• The school is developing a strong reading culture with daily phonics and reading activities.
• Staff manage behaviour incidents in a calm and consistent way.
• Pupils value positive relationships with key staff.
• Pastoral care is prioritised and supported by warm relationships.
• Pupils benefit from therapeutic support, including music therapy.
• Careers provision is effective and most pupils move on to suitable destinations.
• Trustees and the interim management board provide effective support and challenge.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and recognise positive changes.

Areas for Improvement

• The curriculum is not consistently well taught.
• Staff teaching outside their subject specialism lack subject knowledge to implement the curriculum well.
• Learning is not consistently adapted to meet pupils' complex SEND needs.
• Pupils' progress through the curriculum is slower than it should be in some subjects.
• Attendance is too low and persistent absence is too high.
• Too many pupils miss vital learning due to absence.
• Behaviour incidents requiring physical intervention are too frequent.
• Pupils' attitudes to learning are variable and some are disengaged.
• Oversight and record-keeping for pupils on part-time timetables and alternative provision are not comprehensive enough.
• Communication with parents and key stakeholders has suffered.
• Some parents express dissatisfaction, including about communication.
• Some staff have concerns about workload.
• More work is needed to support reading across the curriculum and help pupils catch up quickly.

In 2024–25 pupils at Elements Academy attended 62.7% of sessions (the national figure for special schools was 87.2%). 75.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 35.3%).

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, 43.7% of pupils at Elements Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 5.1%). 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 Elements Academy had 6.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for special schools was 6.6). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.3% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.5%).

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 Elements Academy had 170 pupils, 100.0% of them with an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 99.5%).

It says it provides for: social, emotional and mental health.

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

In 2024–25 Elements Academy received £32,330 and spent £30,246 for each of its 174 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £744,000 (£4,279 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.

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What is Elements Academy's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Elements Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Elements Academy was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Elements Academy have?

Elements Academy has 170 pupils on roll.

What age range does Elements Academy cover?

Elements Academy for pupils aged 7 to 16.

What are Elements Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 0% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Elements Academy?

Elements Academy is at Doe Quarry Lane, Dinnington, SHEFFIELD, S25 2NF.