Gorse Ride Junior School

Gorse Ride Junior School is a small junior school inspected in June 2026 under section 5. Safeguarding standards are met, and most areas of provision meet the expected standard. Personal development and wellbeing are a strong feature: pupils benefit from a well-planned programme, inclusive trips and residentials, strong pastoral care, and clear values that support respectful behaviour and a sense of belonging. Attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance are all judged at the expected standard. Pupils attend regularly overall, behave calmly, learn well across a broad curriculum, and are supported inclusively, including pupils with SEND. Leaders know the school well, support staff effectively, engage parents positively, and governors provide appropriate challenge and support. The key concern is achievement, which needs attention. Disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as well as they should over time, especially in mathematics, and gaps in their knowledge are not consistently closed. The mathematics curriculum does not always set out a clear sequence of learning for some vulnerable pupils, and leaders’ oversight of disadvantaged pupils’ progress is not yet consistently precise. A small number of disadvantaged pupils also attend less regularly, although leaders’ recent actions are improving this.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where pupils feel safe.
• Personal development and wellbeing are a strong feature of the school.
• The personal development curriculum is carefully planned and adapted to remain relevant.
• Pupils benefit from inclusive trips, visits and residential activities that build confidence and teamwork.
• Pastoral support promotes pupils’ physical and mental health, resilience and belonging.
• Pupils understand and apply the school values of ‘Grow, Respect and Succeed’.
• Pupils take pride in leadership roles and contribute to school improvement.
• Pupils behave calmly and positively, and lessons are orderly with little disruption.
• Attendance is above national levels and improving for many pupils, including those with SEND.
• The curriculum is broad, carefully structured and prioritises reading, writing and mathematics.
• Reading is prioritised, with a well-used library and a range of high-quality texts.
• Teachers demonstrate secure subject knowledge and provide regular opportunities to revisit prior learning.
• Pupils typically achieve well across the wider curriculum.
• Inclusion is well considered, with early identification of needs and effective support.
• Leaders prioritise staff development, workload and wellbeing.
• Leaders engage well with parents and the community, and governors fulfil their statutory duties.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement needs attention because disadvantaged pupils underperform over time.
• Disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes are particularly weak in mathematics.
• Gaps in some pupils’ knowledge, especially disadvantaged pupils in mathematics, are not addressed quickly enough.
• The mathematics curriculum does not always set out a clear sequence of learning for some vulnerable pupils.
• Leaders’ oversight of disadvantaged pupils’ progress is not consistently precise.
• A small number of disadvantaged pupils do not attend as regularly as they should.
• Disadvantaged pupils’ combined reading, writing and mathematics outcomes are well below national averages.
• Governors are still refining how they check differences in outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.

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 Gorse Ride Junior School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.8% 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 Gorse Ride 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 Gorse Ride Junior School had 23.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.2% 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, 7.5% of pupils at Gorse Ride Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.4% 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 Gorse Ride Junior School received £8,580 and spent £8,562 for each of its 159 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £160,000 (£1,003 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 Wokingham · Wokingham local authority: places and applications

What is Gorse Ride Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Gorse Ride Junior School is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Gorse Ride Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Gorse Ride Junior School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Gorse Ride Junior School have?

Gorse Ride Junior School has 159 pupils on roll.

What age range does Gorse Ride Junior School cover?

Gorse Ride Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Gorse Ride Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 60% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Gorse Ride Junior School?

Gorse Ride Junior School is at Gorse Ride South, Finchampstead, Wokingham, Berkshire, RG40 4JJ.