Thurcroft Junior Academy

Thurcroft Junior Academy is performing well overall. Inspectors found a school where pupils feel safe, valued and proud to belong, and where most achieve well. The school is a junior academy with a nursery and a specially resourced provision for pupils with speech, language and communication needs and autism, and it is part of the Aston Community Education Trust. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic. The curriculum is broad and balanced, staff have strong subject knowledge, and the school has thought carefully about how pupils revisit prior learning. Reading is a particular strength: phonics support is put in place quickly for pupils who need it, books are matched to pupils' phonics knowledge, and pupils with SEND are supported to learn the same curriculum as their peers. The nursery provision is exceptionally strong, with children flourishing as independent, focused learners. Pupils behave well, show kindness and respect, and benefit from a well-planned personal development programme with meaningful leadership opportunities. Safeguarding is effective. There are two main areas for improvement. Assessment is not used consistently well enough to check pupils' understanding, address misconceptions and adapt tasks to meet pupils' needs, so some pupils do not build on prior learning as well as they could. The teaching of early writing also lacks precision and consistency, with insufficient focus on foundational transcription and spelling, meaning some pupils are not fully confident in letter formation and writing simple sentences accurately.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, valued and proud to be part of the school
• Parents view the school as supportive academically and emotionally
• Pupils are enthusiastic learners who benefit from a wide range of opportunities
• Staff have high expectations and most pupils achieve well
• Pupils behave well and show high levels of kindness and politeness
• Pupils respect diversity and know how to treat others fairly
• Bullying is rare and resolved quickly when it occurs
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and carefully sequenced
• Staff use strategies such as 'flashback five' to help pupils remember prior learning
• Phonics support is quickly identified and delivered well for pupils who need it
• Reading books are carefully matched to pupils' phonics knowledge
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported to access the same curriculum
• Pupils in the specially resourced provision achieve well
• Nursery children learn exceptionally well and become highly independent, focused learners
• The newly implemented behaviour policy has improved pupils' conduct
• Personal development is well planned, including healthy lifestyles, safety and fundamental British values
• Pupils have meaningful leadership opportunities, such as eco warriors and travel ambassadors
• Staff are proud to work at the school and value the training they receive
• Governors and trustees know the school's strengths and areas for development and consider staff workload
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment is not used consistently well to check pupils' understanding
• Misconceptions are not always addressed promptly
• Some tasks are not designed well enough to meet pupils' needs
• Some pupils do not build on previous learning as well as they could
• The teaching of early writing lacks precision and consistency
• Insufficient focus is given to foundational transcription and spelling
• Some pupils are not fully confident in correct letter formation and writing simple sentences accurately

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 Thurcroft Junior Academy attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.2% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Thurcroft Junior Academy 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 Thurcroft Junior Academy had 25.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.3% 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, 17.6% of pupils at Thurcroft Junior Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.9% 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 2024–25 Thurcroft Junior Academy received £6,998 and spent £6,463 for each of its 291 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £747,000 (£2,566 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Aston Community Education Trust, income was £7,762 and spending £7,726 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 Rotherham · Rotherham local authority: places and applications

Thurcroft Junior Academy is part of Aston Community Education Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Listerdale Primary Academy Rotherham
• Springwood Primary Academy Sheffield
• Aughton Primary Academy Sheffield
• Aston Academy Sheffield
• Waverley Primary Academy Rotherham
• Brookfield Primary Academy Mexborough
• Swinton Academy Mexborough
• Lowedges Primary Academy Sheffield
• Langwith Bassett Primary Academy Mansfield
• Shirebrook Academy Mansfield

What is Thurcroft Junior Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Thurcroft Junior Academy is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Thurcroft Junior Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Thurcroft Junior Academy was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Thurcroft Junior Academy have?

Thurcroft Junior Academy has 289 pupils on roll.

What age range does Thurcroft Junior Academy cover?

Thurcroft Junior Academy for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Thurcroft Junior Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 76% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Thurcroft Junior Academy?

Thurcroft Junior Academy is at Green Arbour Road, Thurcroft, Rotherham, S66 9DD.