The Willows School
Locksley Drive, Thurcroft, Rotherham, S66 9NT
- Phase
- Academies
- School type
- Academy special converter
- Ages
- 7 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- NEXUS MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Rachael Booth
- Sponsor
- Nexus Multi Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Rother Valley
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 150
- Pupils on roll
- 197
- URN
- 149642
- Local authority
- Rotherham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01709542539
About this school
The Willows School is a special academy in Rotherham. It teaches children aged 7 to 19 and has 197 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 14 | 12 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - |
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 22 | 22 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - |
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 The Willows School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Rotherham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 51.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 55.1% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 55.6% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 185 |
| 2024/25 | 190 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 55.97%
- English as an additional language
- 5.8%
- Overall absence
- 5.68%
- Persistent absence
- 11.11%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Abbeywood School2.5 miles
Special schools · Rotherham
-
Elements Academy2.5 miles
Free Schools · Sheffield
-
Hilltop School2.8 miles
Academies · Rotherham
-
Newman School3.3 miles
Academies · Rotherham
-
River Valley3.8 miles
Special schools · Sheffield
Other schools in Rotherham
- Abbey School Academies
- Abbeywood School Special schools
- Hilltop School Academies
- Kelford School Academies
- Newman School Academies
- Rotherham Aspire Local authority maintained schools
- ROTHERHAM OPPORTUNITIES COLLEGE Other types
- Arnold Nursery School Nursery
- Rawmarsh Nursery School Nursery
- Badsley Primary School Primary
- Blackburn Primary School Primary
- Bramley Grange Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Willows School teach?
- The Willows School teaches children aged 7 to 19. It is a special school in Rotherham.
- Who is the headteacher of The Willows School?
- The headteacher of The Willows School is Mrs Rachael Booth, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Willows School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Willows School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is The Willows School?
- The Willows School has 197 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 19.
- Is The Willows School full?
- The Willows School has capacity for 150 pupils and 197 on roll (131%), 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 The Willows School a faith school?
- No. The Willows School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs The Willows School?
- The Willows School is part of NEXUS MULTI 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 The Willows School have?
- The schools register lists The Willows School's special educational needs provision as: SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Willows School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2023/24 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 The Willows School's absence rate?
- The Willows School's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Willows School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Willows School'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 10 July 2026.