Ryecroft Academy

Ryecroft Academy is a highly effective primary school. Following its March 2025 graded inspection, it was judged outstanding in quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. The school provides a positive, welcoming environment where pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are ambitious and make exceptional progress. Behaviour is exemplary from early years onward, and pupils are safe, cared for and highly engaged in learning. The curriculum is broad, ambitious and carefully sequenced, with strong links between subjects and a consistent focus on communication, language and vocabulary. Early reading and phonics are well taught, with rigorous checks and targeted support, while pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported through highly personalised provision. Personal development is exceptional, with pupils taking pride in leadership roles and showing maturity in discussing different perspectives. Safeguarding is effective. The school is part of The GORSE Academies Trust and benefits from strong trust and local governance support. Leaders and staff reflect a culture of continuous improvement, and parents and the community hold the school in high regard. The report notes that low starting points for some groups mean not all pupils reach national expectations by the time they leave, but inspectors found that pupils nevertheless make exceptional progress through the curriculum. The previous inspection grade was good.

Strengths

• Positive, welcoming learning environment that helps pupils, including those with SEND, flourish
• High expectations and a strong drive to build pupils’ ambition and aspiration
• Exemplary behaviour and attitudes across the school, including in early years and at playtimes
• Broad, ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum with strong cross-subject links
• Highly effective early reading and phonics support, including rigorous checks on fluency and comprehension
• Swift and personalised identification and support for pupils with SEND
• Strong focus on communication, language and vocabulary across the curriculum
• Exceptional personal development offer, including pupil leadership roles and understanding of different perspectives
• Effective safeguarding arrangements and a safe, caring culture
• Strong trust and local governing body support, with a culture of reflection and 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 Ryecroft Academy attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.4% 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 Ryecroft 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 Ryecroft Academy had 19.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.7% 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, 23.4% of pupils at Ryecroft Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.6% 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 Ryecroft Academy received £7,567 and spent £8,518 for each of its 326 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £209,000 (£640 per pupil).

Across all 14 schools of The Gorse Academies Trust, income was £7,876 and spending £7,672 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 Leeds · Leeds local authority: places and applications

Ryecroft Academy is part of The Gorse Academies Trust, which runs 14 schools. The nearest others:

• The Farnley Academy Leeds
• Elliott Hudson College Leeds
• Leeds Mathematics School Leeds
• Bruntcliffe Academy Leeds
• Morley Newlands Academy Leeds
• The Morley Academy Leeds
• The Ruth Gorse Academy Leeds
• Little London Academy Leeds
• Richmond Hill Academy Leeds
• Hillcrest Academy Leeds

What is Ryecroft Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Ryecroft Academy is Outstanding, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Ryecroft Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Ryecroft Academy was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Ryecroft Academy have?

Ryecroft Academy has 350 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ryecroft Academy cover?

Ryecroft Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 49% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Ryecroft Academy?

Ryecroft Academy is at Ryecroft Academy, Stonebridge Grove, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS12 5AW.