Elements Academy, Sheffield
Elements Academy is a special school for pupils aged 7 to 16 in Sheffield, part of Ethos Academy Trust.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Elements Academy in detail
Elements Academy in its own words
In its own words: "Elements Academy is a new special school in Rotherham meeting the needs of students in KS2-KS4 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) where Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) is identified as the primary need. Elements Academy is a learning community that is safe, nurturing, respectful and aspirational."
Vision and values (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to Elements Academy are The Willows School (2.5 miles); Hilltop School (3.8 miles, Good); River Valley (3.9 miles); and Abbeywood School (4 miles, Good, selective).
The Willows SchoolHilltop SchoolRiver ValleyAbbeywood School
The trust
Elements Academy is one of 6 schools run by Ethos Academy Trust, an academy trust.
What parents say
28 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Elements Academy (as of September 2025): 11% would recommend the school, 25% say their child is happy there and 22% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that they are kept well informed about progress (64%); the weakest, that they would recommend the school (11%).
Where pupils go next
Of the 36 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 64% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 22% to a further education college.
Who goes there
68.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, and 2.4% speak English as an additional language, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (87%) and Mixed (10%).
Almost every pupil at Elements Academy has an education, health and care plan (170 of 170 in 2026). The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.
Elements Academy has a resourced provision for social, emotional and mental health needs: 140 places, 169 pupils on roll.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Kiveton Park Rail Station, about 2.9 miles away in a straight line.
13 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Doe Quarry Lane/Dinnington Junior School (at), 50 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Elements Academy stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Elements Academy issued 248 suspensions, 142.5 for every 100 pupils, and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: Ofsted Parent View; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's February 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Elements Academy prioritises the wellbeing of its pupils through warm staff relationships and therapeutic support such as music therapy. The school has recently improved its systems and structures, creating three learning zones to build consistent staff teams around groups of pupils. Pupils enjoy a strong reading culture and benefit from dedicated social learning lessons that help them understand online safety and healthy relationships.
Key Strengths
- Strong reading culture with daily phonics, regular reading time and story sessions
- Effective pastoral care with warm relationships at the heart of the school's work
- Therapeutic support including music therapy to help pupils manage emotions
- Well-connected mathematics and creative writing curriculums across primary and secondary
- Effective careers provision with most pupils moving to suitable destinations
Areas for Improvement
- Staff lack subject-specific knowledge when teaching outside their specialism, limiting curriculum quality
- Teaching strategies are not consistently adapted to meet pupils' complex learning needs
- Pupil attendance rates are too low with persistent absence causing missed learning
- Oversight and record-keeping for pupils on part-time timetables and alternative provision is unclear
- Communication with parents has suffered and needs improvement
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with appropriate systems and support in place.
Extracurricular Activities
Music therapy, reading activities, careers provision
Elements Academy is a special school for pupils aged 7-16 with social, emotional and mental health needs. The school requires improvement across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.
At a Glance
68.8%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
Resourced provision: SEMH
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
28 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 7% to 0% (2024 to 2025), while maths has declined from 14% to 0% (2024 to 2025).
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby schools
Social & online
Keep up with Elements Academy
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Elements Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Elements Academy is in Rotherham; for families living there:
Apply to Rotherham for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 16
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 6
- Children hurt
- 7
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 16 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 6 serious and 10 slight.
7 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 5 on foot and 2 on a bicycle.
7 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Rotherham is 13 (the median across 128 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
121%
Over capacity
170 pupils
140 places
30 pupils over capacity
as recorded on GIAS
Area Demand Pressure - Sheffield
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Sheffield
Across Rotherham council
Places available
3,667
Applications
2,933
Got 1st preference
92.4%
Got preferred school
97.3%
All secondary applications across Rotherham council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
0
SEN Support
170
EHC Plans
100.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Elements Academy has a resourced provision for social, emotional and mental health needs: 140 places, 169 pupils on roll.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
170
Total Pupils
140
Boys
30
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
27
Teachers
6.3:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£53,253
Mean salary
2026 data
Pupil Absence2024/25
37.3%
Overall absence
75.4%
Persistent absence
179
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Questions parents ask about Elements Academy
What are GCSE results like at Elements Academy?
In the 2026 results, pupils at Elements Academy achieved an Attainment 8 score of 4.6. 3% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is the catchment area for Elements Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Elements Academy is oversubscribed, Rotherham allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
How many pupils go to Elements Academy?
Elements Academy has around 170 pupils on roll. 69% are eligible for free school meals.
Does Elements Academy have specialist SEN provision?
Elements Academy has a resourced provision for social, emotional and mental health needs: 140 places, 169 pupils on roll.
What is attendance like at Elements Academy?
37.3% of sessions were missed at Elements Academy in 2024/25. 75.4% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Elements Academy?
Apply through Rotherham's coordinated admissions process, naming Elements Academy on your application. The national closing date in England is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.
How many road collisions happen near Elements Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 16 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 6 serious and 10 slight. 7 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 5 on foot and 2 on a bicycle. 7 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Rotherham is 13 (the median across 128 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Elements Academy?
Elements Academy is at Doe Quarry Lane, Dinnington, Sheffield, S25 2NF.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)