Marsden Junior School

Marsden Junior School is a welcoming academy where curriculum and teaching and personal development are notable strengths. Pupils learn through a broad, ambitious curriculum, behave very positively, attend well overall, and achieve in line with national averages by the end of Year 6. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils are generally well supported to access the full curriculum, and the enrichment offer and pupil leadership opportunities are particularly strong. Safeguarding standards are met, and leadership and governance are ambitious and secure. The main concern is the performance and attendance of disadvantaged pupils. Historically, disadvantaged pupils have not achieved as well as they could, and a small minority still do not attend regularly enough. Recent outcomes show improvement, and leaders have revised the pupil premium strategy, but disadvantaged pupils remain a priority for further work. The school is part of Great Heights Academy Trust and is smaller than average, with a well-above-average proportion of pupils receiving special educational needs support and a location deprivation level below average. Inspectors identified next steps to continue reviewing the pupil premium strategy to improve disadvantaged pupils’ attainment by the end of key stage 2 and to raise attendance expectations so that all pupil groups attend regularly.

Strengths

• Curriculum and teaching are core strengths, with consistent identification of gaps and precise adaptation.
• Reading, writing and mathematics are taught coherently and pupils secure foundational skills.
• Other subjects are broad, engaging and consistently well taught.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils access the full curriculum well.
• Personal development and wellbeing are strong, including PSHE, online safety and equalities.
• The wider enrichment offer is a real strength and prioritises SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils behave very positively and relationships are respectful.
• Attendance is generally good and leaders act effectively on weaker attendance.
• Leadership, governance and staff development are strong, with high ambition and secure oversight.
• The school is a central part of the community and parents value its support.
• Pupils attain in line with national averages by Year 6.
• Safeguarding standards are met.

Areas for Improvement

• Disadvantaged pupils’ attainment has historically been lower and remains a priority.
• The disadvantage gap remains substantial in some measures, including writing and mathematics.
• A small minority of disadvantaged pupils still do not attend regularly enough.
• Leaders should continue to review the pupil premium strategy to improve disadvantaged attainment by the end of key stage 2.
• Leaders should continue to raise attendance expectations for all pupil groups.

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 Marsden Junior School attended 95.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.9% 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, 1.2% of pupils at Marsden Junior 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 Marsden Junior School had 18.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.8% 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, 25.5% of pupils at Marsden Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.0% 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 Marsden Junior School received £7,399 and spent £7,679 for each of its 168 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £91,000 (£542 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Great Heights Academy Trust, income was £8,616 and spending £8,424 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 Huddersfield · Kirklees local authority: places and applications

Marsden Junior School is part of Great Heights Academy Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Nields Academy Huddersfield
• Colne Valley High School Huddersfield
• Bowling Green Academy Halifax
• The Greetland Academy Halifax
• West Vale Academy Halifax
• The Mirfield Free Grammar Mirfield
• Carlinghow Academy Batley
• Raynville Academy Leeds

What is Marsden Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Marsden Junior School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Marsden Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Marsden Junior School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Marsden Junior School have?

Marsden Junior School has 165 pupils on roll.

What age range does Marsden Junior School cover?

Marsden Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Marsden Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 73% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Marsden Junior School?

Marsden Junior School is at Manchester Road, Marsden, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD7 6EP.