Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School

Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School is currently rated as requiring improvement. The school has seen a decline in educational outcomes since its last inspection, which was deemed good. Although the school prioritizes emotional support and positive relationships among pupils and staff, the challenge remains in implementing an effective curriculum that addresses the diverse needs of all students, particularly in key areas such as mathematics and reading. While the school's efforts to enhance pupil behaviour are noteworthy, there are still concerns regarding safety and behaviour during unstructured times.

Strengths

• Strong commitment to supporting pupils' emotional needs.
• Positive relationships between staff and pupils.
• Well-trained staff supporting pupils with special educational needs.
• Broad and ambitious curriculum framework.
• Effective phonics teaching leading to improved reading outcomes.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent application of the curriculum leading to gaps in learning.
• Poor outcomes at the end of key stage 2.
• Low attendance and high rates of persistent absence.
• Lack of rigorous systems for checking pupil progress in wider-curriculum subjects.
• Inconsistent behaviour management during unstructured times.

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 Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School attended 92.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 23.9% 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, 1.1% of pupils at Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior 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 Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School had 25.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 26.3% 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, 20.4% of pupils at Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School received £7,925 and spent £7,822 for each of its 314 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £228,000 (£726 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 Pontefract · Wakefield local authority: places and applications

What is Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in April 2024.

When was Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School was last inspected in April 2024.

How many pupils does Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School have?

Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School has 314 pupils on roll.

What age range does Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School cover?

Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 46% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School?

Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School is at George Street, Featherstone, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, WF7 5BG.