Springwell Special Academy
St Helen's Boulevard, Carlton Road, Barnsley, S71 2AY
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 5 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- WELLSPRING ACADEMY TRUST
- Executive Principal
- Lydia Harrison
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Wellspring Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Barnsley North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 132
- Pupils on roll
- 136
- URN
- 141563
- Local authority
- Barnsley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01226291133
About this school
Springwell Special Academy is a special academy in Barnsley. It teaches children aged 5 to 16 and has 136 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Springwell Special Academy, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 11 | 10 | 15 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 10% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 10% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 89.0 | 95.0 | 89.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 85.0 | 87.0 | 86.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +6.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.70 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 12 | 20 | 23 |
| Attainment 8 score | 9.3 | 6.4 | 5.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.99 -2.83 to -1.16 | -1.42 -2.04 to -0.80 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 8% | 0% | 0% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Springwell Special Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Barnsley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 61.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 64.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Barnsley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.3 | 35.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 6.4 | 34.7 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 5.8 | 38.5 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 22.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 23.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 29.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 108 |
| 2023/24 | 117 |
| 2024/25 | 122 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 74.59%
- English as an additional language
- 1.6%
- Overall absence
- 29.33%
- Persistent absence
- 57.25%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Springwell Alternative Academy0.0 miles
Academies · Barnsley
-
Waterton Newstead Academy1.2 miles
Special schools · Barnsley
-
Greenacre School2.6 miles
Academies · Barnsley
-
West Riding Academy2.9 miles
Academies · Barnsley
-
Camphill Wakefield (Pennine Camphill Community Ltd)4.7 miles
Other types · Wakefield
Other schools in Barnsley
- Greenacre School Academies
- Springwell Alternative Academy Academies
- The Robert Ogden School Special schools
- Waterton Newstead Academy Special schools
- West Riding Academy Academies
- All Saints Academy Darfield Primary
- Athersley North Primary School Primary
- Athersley South Primary School Primary
- Bank End Primary Academy Primary
- Barugh Green Primary School Primary
- Birdwell Primary School Primary
- Birkwood Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Springwell Special Academy teach?
- Springwell Special Academy teaches children aged 5 to 16. It is a special school in Barnsley.
- Who is the executive principal of Springwell Special Academy?
- The executive principal of Springwell Special Academy is Lydia Harrison, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Springwell Special Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Springwell Special Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Springwell Special Academy?
- Springwell Special Academy has 136 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 5 to 16.
- Is Springwell Special Academy full?
- Springwell Special Academy has capacity for 132 pupils and 136 on roll (103%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Springwell Special Academy a faith school?
- No. Springwell Special Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Springwell Special Academy part of an academy trust?
- Springwell Special Academy is part of WELLSPRING ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Springwell Special Academy have?
- The schools register lists Springwell Special Academy's special educational needs provision as: SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Springwell Special Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Springwell Special Academy's absence rate?
- Springwell Special Academy's overall absence rate is 29.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Springwell Special Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Springwell Special Academy's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.