The Joseph Whitaker School

The Joseph Whitaker School is a good secondary comprehensive school, with inspectors judging the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision all to be good. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is part of East Midlands Education Trust. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school is well led and has a broad, balanced curriculum. Pupils are safe and happy, most behave well, and relationships are polite and cooperative. Personal development is a particular strength, including strong PSHE, careers provision and a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities. Pupils with SEND are well supported, reading is developing positively, and sixth-form students are well taught and well prepared for their next steps. Staff morale is positive and leaders know the school’s priorities. There are still areas to improve. Curriculum ambition and the identification of key knowledge are not consistent in all subjects, which leads to variability in implementation and in checking pupils’ understanding. Behaviour expectations are not always consistently applied, a minority of pupils’ attitudes to learning are not as positive as they could be, and some parents do not fully understand the school’s behaviour expectations.

Strengths

• Broad and balanced curriculum with strong provision in most subjects
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and regularly check understanding
• High expectations and effective support for pupils with SEND
• A developing reading culture with support for early-stage readers
• Personal development is a strength, including PSHE and respect for difference
• Strong careers provision and work-related learning opportunities
• Sixth-form students benefit from carefully planned curriculums and skilled teaching
• Leaders and governance know the school well and provide appropriate support and challenge
• Staff morale is positive and leaders are mindful of workload and well-being
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects do not identify all key knowledge pupils need to learn and when
• Curriculum implementation and checks on understanding are inconsistent across subjects
• Behaviour policy is not always consistently implemented
• A minority of pupils’ attitudes to learning are not as positive as they could be
• Some parents do not understand or appreciate the school’s high behaviour expectations

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 The Joseph Whitaker School attended 92.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 22.3% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 9.0% of pupils at The Joseph Whitaker School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 The Joseph Whitaker School had 18.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 13.2% of pupils at The Joseph Whitaker School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 The Joseph Whitaker School received £7,979 and spent £8,058 for each of its 1,328 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,736,000 (£1,307 per pupil).

Across all 23 schools of East Midlands Education Trust, income was £7,496 and spending £7,400 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Mansfield · Nottinghamshire local authority: places and applications

The Joseph Whitaker School is part of East Midlands Education Trust, which runs 23 schools. The nearest others:

• Lake View Primary and Nursery School Mansfield
• Blidworth Oaks Primary School Mansfield
• Heathlands Primary School Mansfield
• Larkfields Infant School Nottingham
• The Kimberley School Nottingham
• Hollywell Primary School Nottingham
• Mornington Primary School Nottingham
• Gilthill Primary School Nottingham
• Kimberley Primary School Nottingham
• Awsworth Primary and Nursery School Nottingham

What is The Joseph Whitaker School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Joseph Whitaker School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was The Joseph Whitaker School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Joseph Whitaker School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does The Joseph Whitaker School have?

The Joseph Whitaker School has 1,361 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Joseph Whitaker School cover?

The Joseph Whitaker School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are The Joseph Whitaker School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 45.7, and 44% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Joseph Whitaker School?

The Joseph Whitaker School is at Warsop Lane, Rainworth, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG21 0AG.