Appleton Roebuck Primary School

Appleton Roebuck Primary School is a caring, inclusive primary where pupils are happy, safe and attend well. Inspectors found positive relationships, a strong family feel and high expectations for learning and behaviour. The school has an ambitious curriculum adapted for mixed-age classes, pupils achieve well, and early years and reading provision are strong. Personal development is a notable strength, and safeguarding is effective. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first inspection overall. It is part of The STAR Multi Academy Trust, and recent leadership and staffing changes have been managed effectively, with governance providing clear oversight and staff feeling supported. The school is performing well across all inspected areas. The main areas for improvement are SEND and early writing. Provision for some pupils with SEND is not always matched precisely to their needs, meaning some pupils find it harder to access lesson content. In writing, pupils do not routinely get enough practice in letter formation and spelling, so some struggle with more complex writing tasks.

Strengths

• Caring and inclusive school with extremely positive pupil-adult relationships
• Pupils are happy, safe and attend well
• Strong family feel, with older pupils supporting younger ones
• High expectations for pupils' learning and behaviour
• Ambitious curriculum with an effective two-year cycle for mixed-age classes
• Pupils achieve well across a range of subjects
• Strong early reading provision, including phonics support
• Early years provision gets children off to a strong start
• Personal development is a strength and prepares pupils well for the next stage
• Effective leadership and governance have stabilised the school
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Wide range of extra-curricular activities and responsibilities for pupils

Areas for Improvement

• SEND provision is not always precisely matched to identified needs, so some pupils struggle to access some lesson content
• Pupils do not routinely get enough practice in letter formation and spelling, which hinders confidence and accuracy in more complex writing

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 Appleton Roebuck Primary School attended 96.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 2.1% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Appleton Roebuck 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 Appleton Roebuck Primary School had 22.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 10.8% of pupils at Appleton Roebuck Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.9% 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 Appleton Roebuck Primary School received £7,150 and spent £6,932 for each of its 106 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £14,000 (£132 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of Yorkshire Learning Trust, income was £6,882 and spending £6,872 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 York (North Yorkshire) · North Yorkshire local authority: places and applications

Appleton Roebuck Primary School is part of Yorkshire Learning Trust, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Archbishop of York's CofE Junior School, Bishopthorpe York
• Kirk Fenton Church of England Primary School Tadcaster
• Bishopthorpe Infant School York
• Riverside School, Tadcaster Tadcaster
• Escrick Church of England Primary School York
• Fulford School York
• Saxton Church of England Primary School Tadcaster
• Tadcaster Grammar School Tadcaster
• Sherburn Hungate Primary School Leeds
• Sherburn High School Leeds

What is Appleton Roebuck Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Appleton Roebuck Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Appleton Roebuck Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Appleton Roebuck Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Appleton Roebuck Primary School have?

Appleton Roebuck Primary School has 111 pupils on roll.

What age range does Appleton Roebuck Primary School cover?

Appleton Roebuck Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Appleton Roebuck Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Appleton Roebuck Primary School?

Appleton Roebuck Primary School is at Appleton Roebuck Primary School, Main Street, Appleton Roebuck, York, North Yorkshire, YO23 7DN.