Albany Junior School

Albany Junior School is a small, inclusive junior school serving a community with above-average deprivation and a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals. Safeguarding standards are met, and the school is judged at expected standard for attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Pupils feel safe, valued and a strong sense of belonging; attendance is notably strong and behaviour is typically positive. Leaders are committed, know the school well, and provide strong pastoral care and enrichment, including effective support for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. The main concern is pupils' achievement, which needs attention. Over time, pupils do not attain as highly as they could in national tests, and too many leave key stage 2 without secure knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics. Published outcomes vary, and disadvantaged pupils' attainment is not consistently in line with national averages, with 2025 outcomes below national in all areas except reading. Teaching is typically effective but not consistently so; checks for understanding are not always used precisely, so misconceptions can persist and gaps remain. Leaders have correctly identified the right priorities and begun work to strengthen teaching, writing and outcomes, but this work is ongoing and it is too soon to see sustained impact. The inspection is a full section 5 inspection under the renewed framework, and no trust context is noted; the school works closely with the local authority and governors provide effective support and challenge.

Strengths

• Attendance is consistently above national levels and is a notable strength.
• Pupils behave well, are friendly and welcoming, and benefit from calm, purposeful classrooms.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and effective concern management.
• Leaders foster a highly inclusive and welcoming school culture where all pupils are valued.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are identified quickly and generally well supported.
• Pastoral support, including counselling, is very effective and has a positive impact on wellbeing.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced, with reading prioritised and effective phonics for early readers.
• Pupils access strong personal development, including PSHE, enrichment, trips and leadership opportunities.
• Disadvantaged pupils are supported to access clubs, enrichment and pastoral help.
• Governors bring suitable experience and provide effective support and challenge.
• Leaders know the school's context and make decisions in pupils' best interests.
• Pupils feel safe, trust staff and are overwhelmingly positive about school.
• Bullying is rare and not tolerated.
• Staff value leaders' consideration of workload and wellbeing and access professional learning.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' achievement is not yet where it should be, with attainment below national averages over time.
• Too many pupils do not secure the most important knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 2.
• Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes are not stable, and 2025 results were below national averages in all areas except reading.
• Teaching is not consistently effective across all classes and subjects.
• Teachers do not always maximise opportunities to check pupils' understanding, so misconceptions can be missed.
• Some pupils move on to new learning before securing foundational knowledge, leaving gaps over time.
• Adaptations for pupils with SEND are occasionally not closely aligned to their learning needs.
• Some pupils do not demonstrate secure knowledge and understanding of different faiths.
• Recent work to improve teaching and writing is ongoing, and sustained impact is not yet evident.

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 Albany Junior School attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.6% 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 Albany 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 Albany Junior School had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.6% 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, 9.7% of pupils at Albany Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.6% 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 Albany Junior School received £7,658 and spent £7,990 for each of its 176 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £251,000 (£1,425 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 Nottingham · Nottinghamshire local authority: places and applications

What is Albany Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Albany Junior School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Albany Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Albany Junior School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Albany Junior School have?

Albany Junior School has 176 pupils on roll.

What age range does Albany Junior School cover?

Albany Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

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

In 2025, 33% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Albany Junior School?

Albany Junior School is at Pasture Road, Stapleford, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG9 8HR.