Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School

Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School continues to demonstrate strong performance, maintaining its 'good' rating during this inspection. The school fosters a welcoming environment underpinned by Christian values, where pupils express happiness and pride in their school community. The interim headteacher and the senior leadership team set high expectations and are dedicated to providing a quality educational experience. The curriculum prioritizes reading and mathematics, with effective support structures in place for pupils in need. However, there are areas highlighted for improvement, including the need to better link phonics knowledge to spelling and develop the wider curriculum to ensure thorough understanding across subjects.

Strengths

• Pupils feel proud and happy to attend the school.
• Strong leadership with high expectations for pupil achievement.
• Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• High-quality early years education with a strong emphasis on vocabulary development.
• Well-structured reading and mathematics curricula.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent links between phonics knowledge and spelling.
• Wider curriculum not well-mapped or assessed, leading to knowledge gaps.
• Inconsistent behaviour expectations during less structured 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 Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.2% 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, 2.0% of pupils at Spofforth Church of England Controlled 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 Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School had 18.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 54.0% 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, 7.1% of pupils at Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.1% 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 Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School received £8,589 and spent £9,388 for each of its 95 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £74,000 (£785 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 Harrogate · North Yorkshire local authority: places and applications

What is Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School is Good, from an inspection in October 2022.

When was Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School was last inspected in October 2022.

How many pupils does Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School have?

Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School has 98 pupils on roll.

What age range does Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School cover?

Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 42% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School?

Spofforth Church of England Controlled Primary School is at School Lane, Spofforth, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3 1BA.