St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy

St Oswald’s Church of England Primary Academy is currently rated as requiring improvement overall. The school demonstrates notable strengths in personal development and behaviour, with pupils exhibiting polite manners and a positive attitude towards learning. The school's Christian ethos fosters an inclusive community, with effective after-school clubs and support for attendance. However, the quality of education requires improvement, particularly in key stage 1 and 2, where the curriculum lacks clarity on essential knowledge and assessment methods do not effectively identify learning gaps, resulting in many pupils struggling to achieve expected standards by Year 6. This marks the school's first inspection post-COVID-19 pandemic.

Strengths

• Strong Christian ethos that supports inclusivity and values.
• Pupils behave well and exhibit good manners and responsibility.
• Effective early years provision that supports children’s progress.
• Leaders are ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• Strong after-school club offerings, including sports and cooking.

Areas for Improvement

• Key stage 1 and 2 curriculum does not clearly identify essential knowledge.
• Inadequate support for key stage 2 pupils struggling with reading.
• Assessment methods do not effectively identify gaps in pupil understanding.

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 St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy attended 91.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 28.2% 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, 0.9% of pupils at St Oswald's Church of England Primary 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 St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy had 22.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 17.2% of pupils at St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.9% 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 St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy received £7,933 and spent £7,793 for each of its 421 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £450,000 (£1,071 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust, income was £8,537 and spending £8,479 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 Bradford · Bradford local authority: places and applications

St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy is part of Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Buttershaw Business & Enterprise College Academy Bradford
• St Matthew's CofE Primary School and Nursery Bradford
• Clayton St John CofE Primary School Bradford
• St Philip's CofE Primary School Bradford
• Bradford Girls' Grammar School Bradford
• Lady Royd Primary School Bradford
• The Academy At St. James Bradford
• Westminster Church of England Primary Academy Bradford
• Bradford Forster Academy Bradford
• St John's CofE Primary School Bradford

What is St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in January 2024.

When was St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy was last inspected in January 2024.

How many pupils does St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy have?

St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy has 412 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy cover?

St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy?

St Oswald's Church of England Primary Academy is at Cross Lane, Great Horton, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 3JT.