Toll Bar Primary School

Toll Bar Primary is a caring, welcoming school where pupils feel safe and relationships between staff and pupils are strong. Pupils are polite, friendly and behave well around school; bullying is rare and dealt with quickly. Enrichment is a notable strength, including sports, music, cooking, residential trips and community volunteering, and safeguarding is effective. The main concern is that pupils do not consistently achieve as well as they should. Leaders have raised expectations and revised the curriculum so it is well sequenced in most subjects, and reading and early years provision are strengths. However, teaching is not consistently effective: activities are sometimes poorly matched to learning aims, staff do not always check understanding before moving on, and gaps in knowledge can develop. Several improvement changes are recent and not yet fully embedded. Personal development is generally strong, with pupils showing respect and understanding healthy relationships, but their knowledge of British values, world faiths and beliefs is less developed, so they are not as well prepared for life in modern Britain as they could be. Leaders and governors understand the work still needed, staff feel supported and united, and most parents are positive. The school has had staffing changes and is using external support as it continues its improvement journey.

Strengths

• Strong, caring relationships between staff and pupils
• Pupils feel safe, are polite and friendly, and behave respectfully
• Bullying is rare and resolved quickly when it occurs
• Wide enrichment programme including sports, music, cooking, trips and community volunteering
• Well-sequenced curriculum in most subjects with raised expectations, including for pupils with SEND
• Strong early years provision with a stimulating environment and thoughtful adult questioning
• Effective phonics and reading provision, with well-matched books and targeted support
• Accurate identification and support for pupils with SEND
• Effective behaviour systems and significantly improved attendance
• Strong safeguarding arrangements
• Pupils understand healthy relationships, equality and respect for difference
• Governors understand strengths and areas for development
• Positive staff unity, workload consideration and parental support

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent, so too many pupils do not achieve as well as they should
• Lesson activities are sometimes not well matched to curriculum learning aims
• Staff do not consistently check pupils’ understanding before moving on, leaving gaps in knowledge
• Some curriculum changes are recent and not yet fully embedded, limiting their impact
• Pupils’ knowledge of British values, world faiths and beliefs is not fully developed
• Pupils are not as well prepared for life in modern Britain as they could be
• Improvement strategies are in their infancy and their impact is limited at this stage

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Toll Bar Primary School attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 4.6% of pupils at Toll Bar Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Toll Bar Primary School had 20.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 15.1% of pupils at Toll Bar Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Toll Bar Primary School received £9,122 and spent £9,362 for each of its 179 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £67,000 (-£374 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Doncaster · Doncaster local authority: places and applications

What is Toll Bar Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Toll Bar Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Toll Bar Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Toll Bar Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Toll Bar Primary School have?

Toll Bar Primary School has 186 pupils on roll.

What age range does Toll Bar Primary School cover?

Toll Bar Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Toll Bar Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Toll Bar Primary School?

Toll Bar Primary School is at Askern Road, Toll Bar, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN5 0QR.