Herringthorpe Junior School

Herringthorpe Junior School is an exceptional and inspiring place to learn, with inspectors finding all four key areas of provision to be outstanding. Staff build warm, nurturing relationships and know pupils exceptionally well, which helps them provide the right support for every child. Pupils are happy, safe and proud of their school, and their behaviour and attitudes to learning are exemplary. The school has an ambitious curriculum that pupils build on successfully over time, and they achieve highly. Reading is a particular strength, with pupils reading confidently and performing well above their peers nationally. Enrichment and educational visits, including residentials, are central to the curriculum, and pupils benefit from strong personal development, including mental health education and leadership roles. Pupils with SEND are identified swiftly and supported effectively to thrive alongside their peers. Leaders, governors and trustees have a clear and ambitious vision, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. This was the school’s first section 5 inspection since becoming an academy and its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic; it is part of the Willow Tree Academy trust and was previously judged outstanding before opening as an academy.

Strengths

• Warm, nurturing relationships and exceptionally strong knowledge of each pupil
• Ambitious curriculum that builds knowledge well over time and leads to high achievement
• Strong reading system that helps pupils read confidently and perform well above peers nationally
• Exemplary pupil behaviour, self-control and positive attitudes to learning
• Strong personal development, including mental health, self-care and pupil leadership roles
• Swift identification and effective support for pupils with SEND
• Rich enrichment, educational and residential visits that deepen learning
• Clear, ambitious leadership and effective governance through the trust and local board
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

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 Herringthorpe Junior School attended 95.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.5% 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 Herringthorpe 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 Herringthorpe Junior School had 22.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.8% 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, 20.1% of pupils at Herringthorpe Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.2% 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 Herringthorpe Junior School received £6,824 and spent £6,637 for each of its 352 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £246,000 (£699 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of Willow Tree Academy, income was £6,949 and spending £6,920 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 Rotherham · Rotherham local authority: places and applications

Herringthorpe Junior School is part of Willow Tree Academy, which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

• Greasbrough Primary School Rotherham
• Rockingham Junior and Infant School Rotherham
• Roughwood Primary School Rotherham

What is Herringthorpe Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Herringthorpe Junior School is Outstanding, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Herringthorpe Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Herringthorpe Junior School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Herringthorpe Junior School have?

Herringthorpe Junior School has 354 pupils on roll.

What age range does Herringthorpe Junior School cover?

Herringthorpe Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

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

In 2025, 85% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Herringthorpe Junior School?

Herringthorpe Junior School is at Chatterton Drive, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, S65 2JW.