Doncaster UTC

Doncaster UTC

Address: College Road, Doncaster, DN1 3BF Unique reference number (URN): 147838

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Strong standard

Pupils are extremely well prepared for their next steps in education, employment or training. They develop detailed knowledge and skills across the curriculum. Pupils make positive progress from their respective starting points. They produce high-quality work across both academic and vocational subjects.

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Achievement Strong standard

Leaders support pupils who face barriers to their learning effectively to make rapid and effective progress across the curriculum. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and pupils who are disadvantaged. Interventions and support for pupils ensures that any gaps in their basic skills and knowledge close rapidly.

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Achievement Strong standard

Despite the varied starting points of pupils when they join the school, they go on to attain outcomes in national curriculum tests and examinations that are generally close to or above the national average. This is also true for disadvantaged pupils. Pupils’ attainment is particularly notable and sustained in subjects linked to the school’s specialist areas of study of engineering and creative and digital technologies.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Pupils’ attendance has been significantly above the national average over time. This is also the case for pupils who are disadvantaged and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Many pupils join Doncaster UTC with low levels of attendance at their previous school. However, this changes quickly. Pupils enjoy being at school. They feel that they belong and they want to attend. Leaders analyse attendance data closely. It is rare that a pupil’s attendance falls below the school’s high expectations. If this does happen, leaders quickly engage with parents and carers to identify the barriers to good attendance and to establish successful strategies to overcome these.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Pupils behave with courtesy and respect towards one another and adults. Classrooms are calm places, where pupils show positive attitudes to learning. Pupils value the way in which the rewards system recognises good conduct. Leaders have high expectations of behaviour. Some pupils who join the school have struggled to regulate their behaviour in the past. Leaders have established a range of inclusive pastoral support systems that successfully help these pupils to understand how to meet the school’s expectations and behave well. Incidents of bullying, discrimination, harassment or abuse are extremely unusual. On the rare occasions that they happen, leaders deal with it quickly and effectively.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders have established a high-quality, well-sequenced curriculum across the school. It supports pupils to develop and deepen their knowledge and skills successfully. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, pupils who are disadvantaged and pupils who face other barriers to their learning. Leaders ensure that pupils who have gaps in their basic reading, writing and mathematical knowledge receive targeted, highly effective interventions. Teachers implement the curriculum well across all subjects. They use a range of strategies to check pupils’ learning closely. Teachers identify and address misunderstandings or misconceptions quickly and successfully.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders have embedded a carefully structured approach to the way in which the curriculum is taught. This comprises 6 'principles of excellence' that form distinct parts to each lesson. This structure ensures that pupils have secured the most important knowledge before starting new learning. Teachers support pupils by modelling how to answer well. This helps pupils to respond confidently and accurately, when they move on to practise their fluency through independent activities.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Leaders check the impact of the curriculum closely through a rigorous quality assurance system. They use information from tests and checks on pupils' learning to adapt the curriculum well.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders have firmly embedded a culture of inclusion across the school. Staff have high expectations of all pupils. Before pupils join Doncaster UTC, leaders liaise closely with schools, parents and carers to establish any identified barriers to learning. As soon as pupils start at the school, leaders use a comprehensive range of systems to identify any additional needs quickly and effectively.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders use this information to develop personalised strategies to support pupils, who are disadvantaged, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and pupils who face other barriers to their learning. This includes pupils who are known, or previously known, to social care. These strategies are highly effective. They help pupils to succeed in their learning and achievement across the curriculum.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders rigorously track and monitor the progress of pupils, who face barriers to their learning. They use this information to swiftly and effectively adapt support strategies where necessary. The professional learning programme that staff have access to helps them to fully understand how to meet pupils’ needs.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The school’s pupil premium strategy is evidence based. It identifies deliberate strategies to reduce the specific barriers to learning faced by disadvantaged pupils. Staff implement them consistently and successfully.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leaders at all levels are united in a collective moral purpose to ensure that the school offers pupils the best possible preparation for later life. They recognise the school’s many strengths but there is no sense of complacency. Leaders are relentless in their aspiration to further excellence. They have created rigorous systems to ensure that the school is continuously improving.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Trustees and governors are equally aspirational. They offer leaders appropriate levels of support and challenge in their pursuit of these goals. Trustees and governors fulfil all of their statutory responsibilities. The professional development programme on offer to staff closely aligns to the improvement priorities identified by leaders. It develops staff expertise highly effectively by drawing upon best practice within the school, the trust and more widely.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Staff are proud to work at the school. They appreciate the considered way in which leaders support their workload and wellbeing. For example, staff are able to take ‘perk days’, which allow them to attend family events. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. Many talk passionately about the way in which the school has transformed their children’s lives.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders have developed and established a personal development and wellbeing programme that is carefully adapted to the school’s context. The careers education programme is the golden thread of personal development at the school. Pupils benefit from widespread opportunities to engage with the world of work through regular employer visits, trips to local workplaces and a carefully planned work experience programme. Pupils build detailed knowledge about careers and they make well-informed decisions about their next steps in education, employment or training.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The school’s employer partners work with leaders to create exciting practical projects, which form part of the core curriculum for all pupils. For example, pupils were recently asked to design a puck which could be used for underwater hockey. Pupils particularly enjoy the way that this part of their study programme asks them to apply their learning across the curriculum creatively. They thrive upon this challenge and produce high-quality work as a result.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

The personal, social and health education curriculum supports pupils to develop secure knowledge and understanding. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged pupils and pupils who face other barriers to their learning. Pupils learn about the importance of respecting diversity and they reflect this in their behaviour towards others. They learn how to keep themselves safe and healthy, both online and offline. The taught programme helps pupils to understand local safeguarding risks, such as rail and road travel safety. Pupils learn and understand the importance of healthy relationships and consent.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Pupils are confident in accessing the comprehensive range of pastoral support across the school. This is highly effective in helping pupils who are worried or upset to feel happier and to access learning.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Pupils enjoy a wide range of enrichment opportunities that enhance their cultural understanding and experiences. These include trips overseas and visits to local places of interest. Leaders have recently expanded the range of pupil leadership opportunities at the school. Pupils value the way that these roles help them to influence the school’s provision.

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Post-16 provision Strong standard

Leaders have developed a varied and highly effective post-16 curriculum, which offers students the opportunity to study both academic and technical qualifications. It is carefully sequenced and builds students’ knowledge and skills successfully. This includes students who are disadvantaged, students with special educational needs and/or disabilities and students who face other barriers to their learning.

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Post-16 provision Strong standard

Teachers are experts in their subjects. They implement this curriculum consistently well, using the same 'principles of excellence' lesson structure as in the lower school. Students achieve well from their respective starting points. This is particularly notable in technical and applied general qualifications, where attainment has been significantly above national averages over time.

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Post-16 provision Strong standard

A comprehensive careers education programme enriches the post-16 curriculum. This includes a range of meaningful opportunities for students to engage with the world of work, such as work experience, visits from local employers and creative projects. Students speak enthusiastically about this. Leaders ensure that there is an age-appropriate personal development programme, which supports students to deepen their learning and understanding of a wide range of issues.

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Post-16 provision Strong standard

Students are extremely well prepared for life beyond school. They are extremely well informed about their next steps and the vast majority go on to highly appropriate educations, employment or training.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils are proud to attend Doncaster UTC. They feel a clear sense of belonging, which enables them to flourish. Pupils are safe, happy and enjoy attending school. They show kindness and maturity towards one another. Pupils have warm, caring relationships with staff. One pupil reflected the views of many in describing the school as ‘caring, welcoming and respectful. It’s one huge family.'

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils behave very well around the school. Classrooms are calm environments, where they can learn effectively. Social times are orderly and pupils enjoy socialising with one another. Bullying is rare. Pupils are confident that it would be dealt with quickly if it did happen.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils join the school from a range of different starting points. Some have previously had negative experiences of education. This changes quickly once they have joined the school. Pupils are engaged and motivated in lessons. They achieve well. Effective strategies to support pupils who face barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing help them to access learning successfully. Pupils thrive in the work-related learning in which the school specialises. They speak effusively about the employer projects, which they complete as part of their study programmes. These ask pupils to apply their knowledge and skills to practical tasks. Pupils show creativity, determination and resilience in rising to the challenge of these project briefs.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils benefit from a wide and expanding enrichment offer at the school. They value their regular meetings with representatives from the school’s employer partners. Many pupils take advantage of the after-school clubs and pupil leadership opportunities. All pupils participate in a broad range of employer visits and trips to universities and workplaces. These support pupils to be very well prepared for life after school.

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Next steps

Leaders should further develop their work to remove minor inconsistencies in the implementation of the curriculum and continue to refine and develop the school’s highly effective provision, so that it has a transformational impact upon all pupils’ educational experience.

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About this inspection

This school is part of the Brighter Futures Learning Partnership Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Garath Rawson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Pippa Dodgshon.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

This inspection took place on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 September 2026.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

Inspectors spoke with the headteacher and other senior leaders during the inspection, including from the trust. They also met with the chief executive officer, trust board members and members of the local governing board. Inspectors spoke with members of teaching and non-teaching staff and several groups of pupils during the inspection.

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About this inspection

The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school currently uses no alternative provision.

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Team inspectors:

Elizabeth Cresswell, Ofsted Inspector Chris Fletcher, Ofsted Inspector Mike Kilgannon, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 15 September 2026

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last 6 years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational needs support at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English indices of deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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English and maths GCSE

Percentage of pupils who achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSE.

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Attainment 8

A measure of pupils' point scores across 8 subjects including maths (double weighted), English (double weighted if both language and literature are taken), 3 EBacc measures and 3 GCSE or technical measures.

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national average

2024/25 (final) 48.6 46.1 Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (final) 48.1 45.9 Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (final) 45.2 46.3 Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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Disadvantaged pupils' English and maths GCSE grade 5 or above

Percentage of disadvantaged pupils achieving grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSE.

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Disadvantaged pupils' Attainment 8

A measure of disadvantaged pupils' point scores across 8 subjects including maths (double weighted), English (double weighted if both language and literature are taken), 3 EBacc measures and 3 GCSE or technical measures.

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national average

2024/25 (final) 39.1 34.9 Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (final) 38.8 35.0 Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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Disadvantaged pupils' English and maths GCSE grade 5 or above

Percentage of disadvantaged pupils who achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSE.

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Disadvantaged pupils' Attainment 8

A measure of disadvantaged pupils' point scores across 8 subjects including maths (double weighted), English (double weighted if both language and literature are taken), 3 EBacc measures and 3 GCSE or technical measures.

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Destinations after 16

Percentage of pupils staying in education or employment for at least 2 terms after the end of secondary school (key stage 4).

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A-level average point score

The average points that students achieved per A-level entry.

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A-level value added

A score showing students’ progress between the end of key stage 4 and the end of their academic qualification studies.

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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