Junction Farm Primary School

Junction Farm Primary is a strong school with very high expectations for pupils and a clear focus on developing the whole child. Pupils behave exceptionally well, feel happy and safe, and benefit from an ambitious curriculum and a wide range of inclusive personal-development opportunities. The early years provision is particularly strong, and pupils with SEND are very well supported, including through the school’s specially resourced provision. Leadership, governance and trust oversight are effective, and the school has managed a recent period of instability well while keeping staff workload in mind. The main areas for improvement sit within the quality of education. In some subjects, tasks chosen by staff do not consistently help pupils learn the intended curriculum, which can limit recall, connections and the standard of work across subjects. The writing curriculum also gives pupils too few opportunities to apply what they learn in phonics, so some spelling is inaccurate when pupils write independently. This was the school’s first routine section 5 inspection, and it is part of the Spark Education Trust. Since September 2024, schools inspected under this framework do not receive an overall effectiveness grade, but the report highlights outstanding behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision, with quality of education judged good. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• Very high expectations and a strong focus on developing the whole child
• Pupils behave exceptionally well and classrooms are calm
• Pupils feel happy and safe and have effective ways to raise concerns
• An ambitious curriculum with strong outcomes in mathematics
• Pupils with SEND are very well supported, including in the specially resourced provision
• Reading is a priority and pupils enjoy regular story time and reading-promotion activities
• Early years provision is highly engaging and builds children’s motivation and resilience
• Personal development is exemplary and highly inclusive, with strong uptake of opportunities
• Leaders, trustees and governors have high ambitions and know the school well
• The school has managed recent instability well and prioritises staff workload
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, tasks lack focus and do not consistently enable pupils to learn the intended curriculum
• The writing curriculum does not consistently require pupils to apply phonics, leading to underdeveloped writing and inaccurate spelling

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 Junction Farm Primary School attended 96.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.0% 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, 0.3% of pupils at Junction Farm 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 Junction Farm Primary School had 20.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.2% 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, 12.1% of pupils at Junction Farm Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 9 pupils.

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 Junction Farm Primary School received £6,205 and spent £6,422 for each of its 352 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £23,000 (£65 per pupil).

Across all 15 schools of Spark Education Trust, income was £7,398 and spending £7,254 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 Stockton-On-Tees · Stockton-on-Tees local authority: places and applications

Junction Farm Primary School is part of Spark Education Trust, which runs 15 schools. The nearest others:

• Egglescliffe School Stockton-On-Tees
• The Links Primary School Stockton-On-Tees
• Levendale Primary School Yarm
• Layfield Primary School Yarm
• Conyers School Yarm
• Whinstone Primary School Stockton-On-Tees
• Bader Primary School Stockton-On-Tees
• Kirklevington Primary School Yarm
• Whitehouse Primary School Stockton-On-Tees
• Chandlers Ridge Academy Middlesbrough

What is Junction Farm Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Junction Farm Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Junction Farm Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Junction Farm Primary School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Junction Farm Primary School have?

Junction Farm Primary School has 364 pupils on roll.

What age range does Junction Farm Primary School cover?

Junction Farm Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Junction Farm Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 87% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Junction Farm Primary School?

Junction Farm Primary School is at Butterfield Drive, Eaglescliffe, Stockton-on-Tees, TS16 0EU.