Discovery Academy
- Special
- Free schools special
- Ages 7 to 16
URN 149087 · Sheffield · NEXUS MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
Inspection
Ofsted management information, as at 30 September 2026.
Latest full inspection
17 June 2025- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding is effective
- Yes
Full inspection (section 5)
From September 2024 until report cards began, full inspections gave key judgements but no overall grade.
Read the reports on Ofsted’s website. Source: Ofsted, State-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information.
Attendance
Against Sheffield and England, special schools.
Overall absence
2024/259.4%
- England
- 12.8%
3.4 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | England |
|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 10.2% |
| 2018/19 | Not published | 10.1% |
| 2020/21 | Not published | 15.2% |
| 2021/22 | Not published | 13.2% |
| 2022/23 | 8.8% | 13.0% |
| 2023/24 | 9.6% | 13.0% |
| 2024/25 | 9.4% | 12.8% |
Sessions missed for any reason, as a share of all possible sessions in the school year. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Persistent absence
2024/2527.2%
- England
- 35.3%
8.1 percentage points lower than England.
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| Year | This school | England |
|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 29.6% |
| 2018/19 | Not published | 28.8% |
| 2020/21 | Not published | 48.9% |
| 2021/22 | Not published | 40.4% |
| 2022/23 | 22.6% | 38.3% |
| 2023/24 | 28.7% | 37.2% |
| 2024/25 | 27.2% | 35.3% |
Pupils who missed 10% or more of their possible sessions, as a share of pupils. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Severe absence
2024/253.5%
- England
- 6.9%
3.4 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | England |
|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 4.4% |
| 2018/19 | Not published | 4.6% |
| 2020/21 | Not published | 5.6% |
| 2021/22 | Not published | 5.8% |
| 2022/23 | 3.2% | 6.2% |
| 2023/24 | 3.0% | 6.7% |
| 2024/25 | 3.5% | 6.9% |
Pupils who missed 50% or more of their possible sessions, as a share of pupils. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25.
Suspensions and permanent exclusions
Against Sheffield and England, special schools.
Suspensions per 100 pupils
2024/250.93
- England
- 12.32
11.39 lower than England.
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| Year | This school | England |
|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 12.34 |
| 2018/19 | Not published | 11.32 |
| 2019/20 | Not published | 7.76 |
| 2020/21 | Not published | 7.29 |
| 2021/22 | Not published | 9.60 |
| 2022/23 | 0.00 | 10.99 |
| 2023/24 | 1.03 | 12.62 |
| 2024/25 | 0.93 | 12.32 |
Suspensions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. One pupil can be suspended more than once. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England, 2024/25.
Permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
2024/250.00
- England
- 0.08
0.08 lower than England.
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| Year | This school | England |
|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | 0.07 |
| 2018/19 | Not published | 0.06 |
| 2019/20 | Not published | 0.04 |
| 2020/21 | Not published | 0.03 |
| 2021/22 | Not published | 0.05 |
| 2022/23 | 0.00 | 0.08 |
| 2023/24 | 0.00 | 0.08 |
| 2024/25 | 0.00 | 0.08 |
Permanent exclusions in the school year for every 100 pupils on roll. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England, 2024/25.
Key stage 2 results
Against Sheffield and England, primary schools.
Reading, writing and maths: expected standard
2024/250%
Not compared with mainstream schools.
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| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% |
| 2023/24 | 0% |
| 2024/25 | 0% |
Pupils at the end of key stage 2 who met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 2 attainment, 2024/25.
Reading, writing and maths: higher standard
2024/250%
Not compared with mainstream schools.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% |
| 2023/24 | 0% |
| 2024/25 | 0% |
Pupils at the end of key stage 2 who met the higher standard in reading, writing and maths combined. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 2 attainment, 2024/25.
Key stage 4 results
Against Sheffield and England, secondary schools.
Attainment 8
2025/26 (provisional)Not publishedNot published: suppressed to protect individuals, usually because numbers are small
Not compared with mainstream schools.
The average of pupils' points across eight GCSE-level qualifications, with English and maths counted twice. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26.
English and maths: grade 4 or above
2025/26 (provisional)Not publishedNot published: suppressed to protect individuals, usually because numbers are small
Not compared with mainstream schools.
Pupils at the end of key stage 4 with grade 4 or above in both English and maths. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26.
English and maths: grade 5 or above
2025/26 (provisional)Not publishedNot published: suppressed to protect individuals, usually because numbers are small
Not compared with mainstream schools.
Pupils at the end of key stage 4 with grade 5 or above in both English and maths. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26.
Pupils
Against Sheffield and England, special schools.
Eligible for free school meals
2024/2557.4%
- Sheffield
- 55.9%
- England
- 48.8%
8.6 percentage points higher than England.
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| Year | This school | Sheffield | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 54.2% | 44.4% |
| 2022/23 | 57.4% | 56.2% | 45.6% |
| 2023/24 | 54.6% | 55.7% | 47.1% |
| 2024/25 | 57.4% | 55.9% | 48.8% |
Pupils known to be eligible for free school meals on census day in January. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
SEN support
2024/250.9%
- Sheffield
- 0.2%
- England
- 0.5%
0.4 percentage points higher than England.
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| Year | This school | Sheffield | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 0.6% | 0.9% |
| 2022/23 | 0.0% | 0.8% | 0.8% |
| 2023/24 | 0.0% | 0.5% | 0.7% |
| 2024/25 | 0.9% | 0.2% | 0.5% |
Pupils receiving special educational needs support without an education, health and care plan. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
Education, health and care plan
2024/2599.1%
- Sheffield
- 99.8%
- England
- 99.5%
0.4 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Sheffield | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 99.4% | 99.1% |
| 2022/23 | 100.0% | 99.2% | 99.2% |
| 2023/24 | 100.0% | 99.5% | 99.3% |
| 2024/25 | 99.1% | 99.8% | 99.5% |
Pupils with an education, health and care plan. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
First language other than English
2024/252.8%
- Sheffield
- 16.7%
- England
- 14.4%
11.6 percentage points lower than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Sheffield | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/22 | Not published | 18.6% | 14.5% |
| 2022/23 | 0.0% | 17.6% | 14.4% |
| 2023/24 | 2.1% | 17.7% | 14.4% |
| 2024/25 | 2.8% | 16.7% | 14.4% |
Pupils whose first language is known or believed to be other than English. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
Teachers
Against Sheffield and England, special schools.
Pupils per qualified teacher
2025/2610.1
- Sheffield
- 6.8
- England
- 7.3
2.8 higher than England.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Sheffield | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | Not published | 6.7 |
| 2018/19 | Not published | Not published | 6.8 |
| 2019/20 | Not published | Not published | 7.0 |
| 2020/21 | Not published | Not published | 6.8 |
| 2021/22 | Not published | Not published | 6.9 |
| 2022/23 | 6.9 | Not published | 7.0 |
| 2023/24 | 12.1 | Not published | 7.1 |
| 2024/25 | 9.1 | Not published | 7.3 |
| 2025/26 | 10.1 | 6.8 | 7.3 |
Full-time equivalent pupils for each full-time equivalent qualified teacher. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, School workforce in England, 2025/26.
Teacher sickness absence
2024/253.5 days
- Sheffield
- 4.9 days
- England
- 5.0 days
1.5 days lower than England.
Compared with all state-funded schools: DfE publishes this measure for all schools, not by phase.
Show the figures as a table
| Year | This school | Sheffield | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017/18 | Not published | Not published | 4.0 days |
| 2018/19 | Not published | Not published | 4.0 days |
| 2019/20 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| 2020/21 | Not published | Not published | 3.9 days |
| 2021/22 | Not published | Not published | 6.3 days |
| 2022/23 | 3.9 days | Not published | 5.2 days |
| 2023/24 | 6.9 days | Not published | 5.3 days |
| 2024/25 | 3.5 days | 4.9 days | 5.0 days |
Days lost to sickness absence in the school year, averaged across all teachers. Source: Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics, School workforce in England, 2024/25.
Finance
Academies report their accounts as part of their trust, so DfE publishes no school-level balance for this school. The trust’s figures are in DfE’s Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool.
See this school in the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool
About the school
- Pupils on roll
- 121
- Capacity
- 80
- Type
- Free schools special
- Phase
- Special
- Age range
- 7 to 16
- Sixth form
- Does not have a sixth form
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- NEXUS MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Opened
- 1 September 2022
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Constituency
- Sheffield Heeley
- Deprivation of the area (IDACI)
- Decile 3 of 10 (1 is the most deprived tenth of neighbourhoods)
Address: Park Grange Road, Norfolk Park, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S2 3QF
Website: www.discoverysheffield.org/
Telephone: 01144798000
Sources and corrections
Every figure on this page names its source and period. This release was built on 20 October 2026.
- Department for Education: Get Information about Schools: establishment data (GIAS establishment extract 2026-10-20)
- Ofsted: State-funded school inspections and outcomes: management information (Latest inspections as at 2026-09-30; All inspections, 2018/19; All inspections, 2019/20; All inspections, 2020/21; All inspections, 2021/22; All inspections, 2022/23; All inspections, 2023/24; All inspections, 2024/25; All inspections, 2025/26)
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Pupil absence in schools in England (absence-3term-school, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England (exc-school, 2006/07 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-ap-school, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-geography, 2006/07 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; exc-ap-geography, 2013/14 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Key stage 2 attainment (ks2-school, 2022/23 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; ks2-geography, 2015/16 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Key stage 4 performance (ks4-school, 2023/24 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; ks4-geography, 2018/19 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id])
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: Schools, pupils and their characteristics (School census, January 2022 (performance tables, 2021 to 2022); School census, January 2023 (performance tables, 2022 to 2023); School census, January 2024 (performance tables, 2023 to 2024); School census, January 2025 (performance tables, 2024 to 2025))
- Department for Education, Explore Education Statistics: School workforce in England (ptr-school, 2010/11 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; ptr-geography, 2010/11 to 2025/26 [pinned data set id]; sickness-school, 2009/10 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id]; sickness-geography, 2009/10 to 2024/25 [pinned data set id])
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: English indices of deprivation 2025: Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (English indices of deprivation 2025, File 7 (2021 LSOAs))
Spotted something wrong? Report a correction with the school’s URN (149087). Fixes go out in the next weekly release.