Journey Education Group

  • Special
  • Independent
  • Ages 5 to 18
Report card: Expected standard to strong standard

Oak Tree Lodge, Tickhill Road, Balby, Doncaster, DN4 8QNOpen in maps (opens in a new tab)

Journey Education Group is a special school in Doncaster for ages 5 to 18. It is one of the 136 schools in Doncaster. Its latest Ofsted outcome is a report card, from an inspection in June 2026.

Ofsted report card

Inspected 2 June 2026, report published 30 June 2026

Each area is graded from urgent improvement to exceptional, and safeguarding is either met or not met.

Inclusion
Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching
Expected standard
Achievement
Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour
Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing
Expected standard
Leadership and governance
Expected standard
Safeguarding
Met

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 2 June 2026

Pupils enjoy attending this welcoming and friendly school. Most have previously experienced disruptions to their education. At Journey Education Group, pupils quickly find a place where they feel safe, happy and a sense of belonging. The longer pupils attend the school, the more confident they become. They develop highly positive, trusting relationships with staff who know them well and consistently act in their best interests. Over time, pupils’ ambitions and aspirations rise in line with the school’s high expectations of what they can achieve. As a result of the school’s work, pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education and for life beyond this school. Leaders prioritise pupils’ personal development and growth alongside their academic achievement. Staff support pupils to reflect maturely on their decisions and the impact of these on themselves and others. This helps pupils to quickly make improvements in both their attendance and conduct. Consequently, disagreements and inappropriate behaviours, such as bullying, are rare and reduce over time. Where these do happen, staff provide effective support that helps pupils to resolve these increasingly effectively. The school provides a high-quality learning environment that supports pupils to make progress from their starting points and to achieve well. Pupils actively participate in their lessons, enjoying learning about new topics. Pupils typically have gaps in their knowledge, often linked to time out of education. The school helps them to overcome these and is having increasing levels of success. For example, while many pupils do not read at the expected level for their age, they enjoy reading, are expanding their vocabulary and engage well with support that helps them to improve. Beyond their studies, pupils enjoy the wider opportunities that the school provides. They regularly go on educational visits or contribute to the local community, including through charitable work. Some pupils also benefit from a small number of opportunities to develop their individual talents and interests.

What the school should improve

  • Leaders should strengthen the school’s approach to developing pupils writing so that those pupils who require support rapidly improve the formation of their writing and their knowledge of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
  • Leaders should ensure that staff use learning activities to reinforce the most important knowledge that pupils are intended to learn consistently, supporting pupils to rapidly close gaps in their knowledge and make swift progress through the curriculum.

Pupil numbers and mix

15 pupils on roll, with places for 28

Special educational needs support0%

0%, 14.8 percentage points below the England average of 14.8%.

Education, health and care plan100%

100%, 94 percentage points above the England average of 6%.

Schools near Journey Education Group

SchoolDistanceOfstedResults
More Than Ed Independent School0.1 milesNo Ofsted inspectionNot published
Waterside School2 milesOfsted: GoodAttainment 8: 4.9
Doncaster School for Deaf Children2 milesOfsted: GoodNot published
Stone Hill School3 milesOfsted judgements: Outstanding0% met the expected standard
Heatherwood School4 milesOfsted: OutstandingNot published

School details

School type
Other independent special school
Sector
Independent
Age range
5 to 18
Gender
Mixed
Headteacher
Headteacher Angela Cousins
Address
Oak Tree Lodge, Tickhill Road, Balby, Doncaster, DN4 8QN
Local authority
Doncaster
URN
151242

School details from Get Information about Schools, 17 September 2026. Ofsted outcomes published to 31 August 2026. Pupil mix from the school census, 2025/26.