St Botolphs CE Academy

St Botolph’s CE Academy is a primary academy within Enhance Academy Trust. Inspectors found it to be a happy, caring school where pupils feel safe, behave well and enjoy learning. Leadership has addressed weaknesses from the previous inspection and redeveloped the curriculum, and the school performs well across quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. Safeguarding is effective. Early years provision is a particular strength, with exceptionally ambitious planning and a strong focus on communication and language. Early reading is well led and consistently taught, pupils with SEND are well supported, attendance systems are effective, and pastoral support and wider opportunities help pupils develop confidence and responsibility. Staff workload and well-being are considered by leaders and the trust. The main area for improvement is that, in some subjects, important curriculum knowledge has recently changed, so some pupils find it harder to connect current learning with prior learning. Leaders should ensure teachers in those subjects are supported to design learning that helps pupils make strong links over time.

Strengths

• Happy, caring school with strong positive relationships between pupils and staff
• Pupils feel safe and are polite, well mannered and calm in lessons
• Curriculum has been redeveloped so key knowledge is clear in many subjects
• Early reading is taught consistently well, with effective support for pupils who struggle
• Early years provision is exceptionally ambitious and expertly planned
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and highly motivated
• Attendance systems quickly identify and address concerns
• Effective pastoral support and a wide range of clubs and leadership opportunities
• Leaders and trust show strong commitment to improvement and staff well-being
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, recent changes to key knowledge mean some pupils struggle to link their learning over time

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 Botolphs CE Academy attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.0% 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, 3.0% of pupils at St Botolphs CE 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 St Botolphs CE Academy had 24.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 27.8% 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, 16.4% of pupils at St Botolphs CE Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.1% 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 Botolphs CE Academy received £7,131 and spent £7,214 for each of its 295 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £296,000 (£1,004 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 Knottingley · Wakefield local authority: places and applications

St Botolphs CE Academy is part of Enhance Academy Trust, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

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

What is St Botolphs CE Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Botolphs CE Academy is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was St Botolphs CE Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Botolphs CE Academy was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does St Botolphs CE Academy have?

St Botolphs CE Academy has 281 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Botolphs CE Academy cover?

St Botolphs CE Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Botolphs CE Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Botolphs CE Academy?

St Botolphs CE Academy is at Primrose Vale, Wakefield, Knottingley, West Yorkshire, WF11 9BT.