Sherwood Junior School

Sherwood Junior School requires significant improvement following this full inspection. Safeguarding is met, and pupils are happy, safe and well cared for, with a strong personal development offer and effective pastoral support. Pupils benefit from a broad programme of experiences, careers learning, clubs, residential visits and leadership roles, and pupils with SEND are identified and supported well. The school also has a well-sequenced curriculum in place and staff feel well supported by leaders. However, pupils do not achieve well enough. Achievement is graded urgent improvement: attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6 has been significantly below national averages, and disadvantaged pupils' outcomes are particularly weak. Many pupils lack foundational reading, writing and communication knowledge, gaps are not closed quickly enough, and teaching quality and assessment checks are inconsistent. Attendance is a concern, with persistent absence well above national averages, especially for vulnerable pupils. Curriculum and teaching, inclusion, attendance and behaviour, and leadership and governance all require attention. The school serves a deprived community with a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals, and leaders work with the local authority and external partners. Leaders understand priorities and have taken action, but much of the work is at an early stage and has not yet had enough impact on outcomes. Governors need more precise oversight of the school's work to close gaps and improve achievement.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• Pupils are happy and benefit from strong pastoral care.
• Personal development and wellbeing are coherent and appropriate.
• Disadvantaged pupils access a wide range of enriching experiences.
• The school enriches PSHE with careers education, and pupils speak positively about careers week.
• Pupils enjoy clubs such as drama and take part in residential visits.
• Pupils with SEND are identified and assessed quickly and supported well in class.
• Leaders work closely with external agencies to provide effective pastoral support.
• Behaviour routines are well established, and pupils typically behave well in lessons.
• Staff feel well supported by leaders, who consider workload and wellbeing.
• Governors are aware of school priorities, and the school is part of its local community.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not achieve well enough in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• Attainment has been significantly below national averages in 2024 and 2025.
• Disadvantaged pupils' progress and attainment are consistently well below national averages.
• Gaps in pupils' foundational reading, writing and communication knowledge are not closed quickly enough.
• Teaching quality and assessment checks are inconsistent across the school.
• In some subjects, the precise knowledge pupils should learn is not clear enough.
• Pupils do not consistently remember prior learning or have misconceptions addressed.
• Attendance remains low, and persistent absence is well above national averages.
• Attendance has not improved for some groups, including the most vulnerable.
• Adaptations for SEND and disadvantaged pupils are inconsistent and lack precision.
• Some staff are unsure about disadvantaged pupils' needs and how to provide academic guidance.
• Leaders' actions to improve attainment have not yet had enough impact.
• Governance oversight of work to close gaps and improve outcomes needs to be more precise.
• Pupils sometimes do not follow high behaviour expectations during social 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 Sherwood Junior School attended 92.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 22.9% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Sherwood 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 Sherwood Junior School had 21.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.5% 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, 17.5% of pupils at Sherwood Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.0% 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 Sherwood Junior School received £6,823 and spent £6,805 for each of its 229 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £137,000 (£598 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 Mansfield · Nottinghamshire local authority: places and applications

What is Sherwood Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sherwood Junior School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Sherwood Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sherwood Junior School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Sherwood Junior School have?

Sherwood Junior School has 229 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sherwood Junior School cover?

Sherwood Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

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

In 2025, 27% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sherwood Junior School?

Sherwood Junior School is at Sherwood Street, Warsop, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG20 0JT.