Netherthorpe Primary School

Netherthorpe Primary School is a diverse and inclusive school where safeguarding is effective and pupils feel safe. Attendance is high and improving, behaviour is generally good, and pupils benefit from a well-considered early years curriculum, strong support for pupils with SEND and English as an additional language, and a coherent personal development programme. The school serves a community with high levels of disadvantage, SEND and EAL, and it has managed recent leadership turbulence caused by the headteacher's prolonged illness. However, achievement is mixed, and too many pupils leave key stage 2 without reaching expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics. Curriculum and teaching are inconsistent: some activities are not well matched to pupils' learning stages, gaps in foundational English skills are not always addressed, and some SEND adaptations could be more precise. Leaders have accurately identified these areas, but improvement actions are at an early stage and have been slowed by the leadership disruption. The school has notable strengths in attendance, behaviour, early years, inclusion and personal development. Governors provide effective support and challenge, and staff access relevant professional development. Nevertheless, leaders need to address inconsistent curriculum delivery and assessment of gaps, accelerate improvement in achievement, and consider staff workload concerns to secure better outcomes for all pupils. Safeguarding standards are met.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• Attendance is high and improving, with tenacious support for families.
• Pupils generally behave well, bullying is rare, and the new behaviour system is having a positive impact.
• The early years curriculum is well considered, with a sharp focus on vocabulary and communication.
• Children in early years, including those with SEND and EAL, make good progress from low starting points and are well prepared for Year 1.
• SEND identification is quick and effective, and most pupils with SEND access the mainstream curriculum.
• The bespoke Greenhouse provision is well designed and helps pupils make good progress.
• EAL pupils are assessed promptly and supported to close gaps in foundational English.
• The personal development programme is coherent, tailored, and develops understanding of British values, online safety, healthy lifestyles, and different faiths and beliefs.
• Pupils have access to a range of extra-curricular opportunities and effective pastoral and mental health support.
• Pupil leadership roles have a positive impact and develop leadership and teamwork skills.
• Leaders and governors understand the school well and fulfil statutory responsibilities.
• Staff access a well-planned programme of professional development and are proud to work at the school.
• Leaders have positive relationships with many parents through activities such as stay and play sessions.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' achievement is mixed, and too many do not reach expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 2.
• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent, with some work not matched to pupils' stage of learning.
• Some subjects need further refinement so that knowledge is sequenced logically and builds progressively.
• Gaps in pupils' foundational English skills, such as spelling and punctuation, are not always identified and addressed effectively.
• Some pupils repeat errors and misconceptions because gaps in knowledge are not regularly tackled.
• Adaptations for pupils with SEND are sometimes not precise enough or closely matched to their needs.
• Improvements to curriculum and teaching have not moved quickly enough, negatively affecting pupils' achievement.
• Leadership turbulence caused by the headteacher's prolonged illness has slowed some development priorities.
• A significant number of staff say workload is not carefully considered by some leaders, affecting staff wellbeing.
• Some pupils struggle to access the work provided, limiting their progress through the curriculum.
• Disadvantaged pupils' performance remains below national averages in some areas, including reading.

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 Netherthorpe Primary School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.2% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Netherthorpe 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 Netherthorpe Primary School had 23.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.0% 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, 31.5% of pupils at Netherthorpe Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.0% 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 Netherthorpe Primary School received £9,106 and spent £8,698 for each of its 234 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £174,000 (£747 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).

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What is Netherthorpe Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Netherthorpe Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Netherthorpe Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Netherthorpe Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Netherthorpe Primary School have?

Netherthorpe Primary School has 257 pupils on roll.

What age range does Netherthorpe Primary School cover?

Netherthorpe Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Netherthorpe Primary School?

Netherthorpe Primary School is at Netherthorpe Street, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S3 7JA.