Carlton Primary Academy

Carlton Primary Academy is performing well overall, showing significant improvements since its last inspection. With high expectations for learning and behavior, the school has developed a supportive and ambitious culture where pupils interact kindly and demonstrate strong engagement in their education. The school’s values, embodied in the 'Carlton Code', are well understood and have fostered a caring environment. The leadership, supported by the trust, has made notable strides in curriculum design, particularly for early years, leading to outstanding early education outcomes.

Strengths

• Pupils are polite, considerate, and behave well in school.
• The early years curriculum is highly effective and prepares children excellently for future education.
• Leaders have prioritized reading, and pupils speak enthusiastically about their reading choices.
• Teaching phonics is effective, with staff trained to deliver the program consistently.
• Pupils with SEND achieve well due to tailored support and effective individual learning plans.
• The school promotes a strong culture of safeguarding.
• Staff feel supported and valued, contributing to a positive work environment.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subject-specific content in foundation subjects lacks sufficient priority in the curriculum.

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 Carlton Primary Academy attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.0% 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 Carlton 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 Carlton Primary Academy had 23.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 26.7% 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, 16.4% of pupils at Carlton Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.1% 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 Carlton Primary Academy received £6,248 and spent £6,237 for each of its 308 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £252,000 (£818 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of Pioneer Academies Community Trust (Pact), income was £5,167 and spending £5,212 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

Carlton Primary Academy is part of Pioneer Academies Community Trust (Pact), which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

• Parkside Primary Academy Barnsley
• Summerfields Primary Academy Barnsley
• Greenfield Primary School Barnsley

What is Carlton Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Carlton Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Carlton Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Carlton Primary Academy was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Carlton Primary Academy have?

Carlton Primary Academy has 317 pupils on roll.

What age range does Carlton Primary Academy cover?

Carlton Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Carlton Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 64% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Carlton Primary Academy?

Carlton Primary Academy is at Fish Dam Lane, Carlton, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S71 3HF.