Upperwood Academy

Upperwood Academy has demonstrated effective action to sustain the standards previously established. The school has cultivated a positive environment where pupils feel safe and happy, exhibiting warm relationships with staff and clear behavioural expectations. The ambitious curriculum and rich personal development experiences help pupils to prepare well for their future stages of education. This ungraded inspection follows a 'good' grade received previously, suggesting maintenance of quality despite recent challenges.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy coming to school and feel safe.
• Strong relationships between staff and pupils.
• An ambitious new curriculum that supports knowledge retention.
• Effective reading support and interventions for pupils.
• High-quality early years education that prepares children well.
• Well-designed personal, social, and health education programs.
• Strong support for pupils with SEND, with ongoing improvements.

Areas for Improvement

• Some lesson activities lack clear purpose, affecting pupil achievement.
• Adaptations for SEND pupils occasionally fall short of effectiveness.

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 Upperwood Academy attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.8% 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 Upperwood 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 Upperwood Academy had 23.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 3.0% 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, 14.8% of pupils at Upperwood Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.7% 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 Upperwood Academy received £6,595 and spent £6,804 for each of its 293 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £382,000 (£1,303 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Hcat, income was £7,867 and spending £7,746 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 Barnsley · Barnsley local authority: places and applications

Upperwood Academy is part of Hcat, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• Milefield Primary School Barnsley
• The Mill Academy Barnsley
• Ward Green Primary School Barnsley
• Worsbrough Common Primary School Barnsley
• Queens Road Academy Barnsley
• West Meadows Primary School Barnsley
• Hoyland Common Primary School Barnsley
• Birdwell Primary School Barnsley
• Summer Lane Primary Barnsley
• Horizon Community College Barnsley

What is Upperwood Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Upperwood Academy is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Upperwood Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Upperwood Academy was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Upperwood Academy have?

Upperwood Academy has 298 pupils on roll.

What age range does Upperwood Academy cover?

Upperwood Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Upperwood Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Upperwood Academy?

Upperwood Academy is at Dartree Walk, Darfield, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S73 9NL.