St Helen's CE Primary School

St Helen's C E Primary School has shown significant improvement since its last inspection, moving from a 'Requires Improvement' to a 'Good' rating across all areas of inspection. The school fosters a supportive and nurturing environment where pupils are encouraged to develop both academically and personally. The quality of education is notably enhanced by a strong emphasis on reading and effective early years provision, which lays a solid foundation for children's learning. Staff are well-supported and demonstrate high ambitions for their students, leading to enthusiastic engagement from pupils who enjoy a diverse curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils have a passion for reading that is cultivated from early years.
• Early years provision is vibrant and well-planned.
• Strong support for pupils with additional needs is effectively managed.
• Leaders provide excellent professional development for staff.
• Pupils demonstrate a strong understanding of democracy and respect for diversity.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment practices need refinement to better gauge pupils' long-term retention of knowledge.
• Persistent absence among a proportion of pupils requires swift and sustainable improvement.

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 Helen's CE Primary School attended 93.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 21.3% 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, 3.7% of pupils at St Helen's CE Primary School 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 Helen's CE Primary School had 20.8 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, 15.8% of pupils at St Helen's CE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.4% 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 Helen's CE Primary School received £7,477 and spent £7,398 for each of its 205 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £119,000 (£583 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of Enhance Academy Trust, income was £7,136 and spending £7,057 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 Pontefract · Wakefield local authority: places and applications

St Helen's CE Primary School is part of Enhance Academy Trust, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Royston St John Baptist CE Primary Barnsley
• Featherstone All Saints CofE Academy Pontefract
• St Giles C of E Academy Pontefract
• Sandal Magna Community Academy Wakefield
• St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Barnsley Barnsley
• CAPA College Wakefield
• Dodworth St John the Baptist CofE Primary Academy Barnsley
• St Michael's CofE Academy Wakefield
• St Botolphs CE Academy Knottingley
• Horbury Bridge Church of England Junior and Infant Academy Wakefield

What is St Helen's CE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Helen's CE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2023.

When was St Helen's CE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Helen's CE Primary School was last inspected in March 2023.

How many pupils does St Helen's CE Primary School have?

St Helen's CE Primary School has 215 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Helen's CE Primary School cover?

St Helen's CE Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Helen's CE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Helen's CE Primary School?

St Helen's CE Primary School is at Highfield Road, Hemsworth, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, WF9 4EG.