Clifton Green Primary School

Clifton Green Primary School is judged to need attention across all evaluated areas: achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Safeguarding standards are met. A new leadership team, with the headteacher in post since January 2026, has accurately identified priorities and taken decisive action on historical weaknesses, but improvement work is at an early stage and has not yet delivered sustained impact on pupils. There are clear positives. Staff know pupils well and provide strong pastoral support; pupils feel safe, are polite and respectful, and benefit from a wide range of clubs, leadership roles, and experiences such as camping and residential visits. Mathematics and writing are showing some signs of improvement, attendance systems are being strengthened, and parents are generally positive about communication and support. Significant concerns remain. Published outcomes are below national averages, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, and learning is inconsistent across subjects. Attendance and persistent absence are high. Behaviour expectations and routines are not consistent, and some pupils disengage or disrupt learning. Support for pupils with SEND and pupil premium funding is inconsistent, early years provision lacks structure and high-quality interaction, and PSHE, British values and cultural understanding are underdeveloped. Governance challenge and leaders' evaluation of impact are not yet robust, and staff report workload and wellbeing pressures.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and there is an open culture of safeguarding.
• Leaders have accurately identified improvement priorities and taken decisive action on historical weaknesses.
• Leaders actively seek external support and work with improvement partners.
• Mathematics teaching is strengthening, with daily arithmetic practice and improved pupil work.
• Recent improvements in writing are showing positive signs of impact.
• Curriculum leaders have identified the crucial knowledge they want pupils to learn in wider subjects.
• Staff know pupils well and provide timely, well-considered pastoral support.
• Pupils feel safe and know they can talk to a trusted adult.
• Pupils report no concerns around bullying or discrimination, and bullying is rare.
• Pupils are polite, respectful and engage well with visitors.
• A wide range of clubs and leadership opportunities are open to all pupils.
• The 'Experience It' curriculum, camping and residential visits build confidence, independence and life skills.
• The early years curriculum identifies clear knowledge and skills and focuses on language development.
• Recent improvements in identifying and assessing pupils' needs are having a positive impact.
• The school's use of alternative provision is appropriate.
• Governors have comprehensive oversight of the culture of safeguarding.
• Staff appreciate professional development and understand the rationale for improvement work.

Areas for Improvement

• Published outcomes at key stage 2 are below national averages and achievement is inconsistent across curriculum subjects.
• Many pupils struggle to retain and recall important learning over time.
• Pupils have only superficial understanding in some foundation subjects, such as history.
• Pupils with SEND and those receiving pupil premium funding are not sufficiently prepared for their next steps.
• Attendance remains low and persistent absence is well above national averages.
• Behaviour routines and expectations are not implemented consistently across school.
• Some pupils become distracted, disengaged and disrupt learning.
• The quality of teaching varies within and across curriculum subjects.
• Staff do not consistently respond quickly enough to pupils' errors or misconceptions.
• Learning tasks are not suitably adapted for pupils with SEND.
• Early years provision lacks structure and routine, with insufficient high-quality interactions.
• Children are not as prepared as they should be for Year 1, including in applying new language.
• Support for pupils with SEND and other barriers to learning remains inconsistent across school.
• Leaders do not yet evaluate the impact of their improvement work on pupil outcomes.
• Governors show a less rigorous approach to challenging teaching, curriculum and pupil achievement.
• The teaching of PSHE remains inconsistent and monitoring systems are not in place.
• Pupils' understanding of fundamental British values, protected characteristics and different faiths lacks depth.
• Staff workload has increased and staff express concerns about wellbeing.
• Leaders' oversight across some areas of the school's work remains inconsistent.
• Much improvement work remains at an early stage and lacks sustained impact.

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 Clifton Green Primary School attended 91.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 28.1% 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, 2.0% of pupils at Clifton Green 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 Clifton Green Primary School had 21.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 10.3% 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, 19.1% of pupils at Clifton Green Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.4% 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 Clifton Green Primary School received £7,559 and spent £7,197 for each of its 365 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £437,000 (-£1,198 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 Clifton Green Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Clifton Green Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Clifton Green Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Clifton Green Primary School have?

Clifton Green Primary School has 372 pupils on roll.

What age range does Clifton Green Primary School cover?

Clifton Green Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 51% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Clifton Green Primary School?

Clifton Green Primary School is at Kingsway North, Clifton, York, North Yorkshire, YO30 6JA.