Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School

Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School is a welcoming and caring school where pupils feel happy and safe, form positive relationships and behave well. Behaviour and attitudes and personal development are good, with pupils showing respect, enjoying a wide range of activities and taking on responsibilities. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and staff feel well supported in their professional development. The quality of education and leadership and management require improvement. The school is working to develop a broad and ambitious curriculum, but in several subjects it is not clear what the most important knowledge is or how well pupils have understood it. This means pupils do not achieve as well as they should, despite the school’s high ambitions. Mathematics is a relative strength, but this practice is not consistent across subjects. There are particular concerns about early reading, writing and phonics. Pupils at the early stages do not receive the support they need to catch up, books are not closely matched to phonics knowledge, and too many pupils have gaps in their phonics and writing. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified accurately and supported, but achievement still varies. Governance provides appropriate challenge in some areas but has not ensured that weaknesses in pupils’ outcomes are addressed sharply enough. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and no overall effectiveness grade was given.

Strengths

• Pupils feel happy, safe and welcome at school
• Pupils form strong and positive relationships with staff and each other
• Behaviour is calm and sensible throughout the school
• Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes in lessons
• Pupils play cheerfully and cooperatively at playtimes
• Pupils are polite, kind and considerate
• Pupils embody school values such as respect and friendliness
• Pupils understand protected characteristics and reject discrimination
• Pupils benefit from a wide variety of extra-curricular activities
• Pupils take on roles of responsibility such as school and eco councillors
• The mathematics curriculum follows a clear sequence of learning
• Pupils routinely revisit previous mathematics learning
• Teachers make regular checks on pupils’ mathematics knowledge
• Pupils with SEND are identified accurately and supported
• The new writing programme is helping some pupils achieve better
• Music education is a high priority and pupils value it
• Outdoor play programme engages pupils and supports positive behaviour
• Pupils are well prepared for life in wider British society
• Staff appreciate investment in their professional development
• Leaders and governors share a strong desire to achieve the best for pupils
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• The curriculum does not clearly identify the most important knowledge in some subjects
• The school does not consistently prioritise key knowledge or check that pupils understand it
• Pupils do not achieve as well as they should despite the school’s high ambitions
• Good mathematics practice is not consistently applied across all subjects
• Achievement varies for pupils with SEND and it is not clear what they need to learn and when
• Early reading, writing and phonics support does not meet pupils’ needs well enough
• The school does not precisely identify gaps in pupils’ phonics or writing knowledge
• Pupils read books that are not closely matched to the phonics sounds they need
• Too many pupils have gaps in their phonics and writing knowledge
• Governance does not consistently provide the right balance of support and challenge
• Governors have not ensured that weaknesses in pupils’ outcomes are addressed sharply enough
• Governance should check the impact of the curriculum with greater rigour

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 Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.0% 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, 1.7% of pupils at Mount Pleasant 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 Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School had 24.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.4% 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, 16.4% of pupils at Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.4% 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 Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School received £6,463 and spent £6,469 for each of its 292 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £174,000 (£597 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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All schools in York (East Riding Of Yorkshire) · East Riding of Yorkshire local authority: places and applications

What is Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School have?

Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School has 292 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School cover?

Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Mount Pleasant 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 Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School?

Mount Pleasant Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School is at Princess Road, Market Weighton, York, North Yorkshire, YO43 3BY.