King's Meadow Academy

King’s Meadow Academy is a rapidly improving primary school within the Waterton Academy Trust. Inspectors found a calm, nurturing and orderly school where pupils are happy, safe and follow the school rules consistently. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision are all good, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Since the previous inspection, leaders have made timely and wide-ranging changes, including raising ambitions for pupils, improving attendance significantly and strengthening support for pupils with SEND. Reading is a clear priority, with effective phonics teaching and support for pupils who fall behind. The quality of education remains the main area for improvement because recent curriculum changes are not yet fully embedded, teaching has been variable over time, and some pupils, including those with SEND, have not achieved as well as they could. Key priorities are to embed the curriculum consistently, improve pupils’ writing skills, and develop pupils’ resilience, sustained concentration and independent learning. Trustees and local governors have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and priorities, and leaders show a strong commitment to continued improvement.

Strengths

• Calm, nurturing and orderly environment where pupils are happy and safe
• Pupils consistently follow the school’s ‘be ready, respectful and safe’ rules
• Strong personal development provision with a range of trips, clubs and opportunities
• Pupils show positive attitudes to learning and value rewards for their achievements
• Reading is prioritised, with consistent phonics teaching and effective catch-up support
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well through effective agency work
• Attendance has improved significantly through positive partnership with families
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Staff workload and well-being are considered by leaders
• Trustees and local governors have an accurate view of strengths and priorities
• The school has a strong sense of community, equality and inclusion
• Early years provision is good, with children learning to be kind and respectful

Areas for Improvement

• The quality of education requires improvement
• Recent curriculum changes are not fully embedded or implemented consistently
• Teaching impact has been variable, compounded by staffing changes
• Some pupils, including those with SEND, have not achieved as well as they could
• Pupils’ writing is limited by weaknesses in handwriting, spelling, punctuation and grammar
• The reading fluency programme is still in its infancy
• Some pupils’ resilience, sustained concentration and independent learning skills are underdeveloped

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 King's Meadow Academy attended 93.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 24.4% 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, 1.6% of pupils at King's Meadow 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 King's Meadow Academy had 23.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 37.5% 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, 15.8% of pupils at King's Meadow Academy 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 King's Meadow Academy received £7,816 and spent £8,077 for each of its 243 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £35,000 (-£143 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Waterton Academy Trust, income was £7,509 and spending £7,385 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 Pontefract · Wakefield local authority: places and applications

King's Meadow Academy is part of Waterton Academy Trust, which runs 16 schools. The nearest others:

• West End Academy Pontefract
• Ackworth Mill Dam School Pontefract
• Crofton Infant School Wakefield
• Sharlston Community School Wakefield
• South Kirkby Academy Pontefract
• Walton Primary Academy Wakefield
• Churchfield Primary School Barnsley
• Normanton Junior Academy Normanton
• Normanton Common Primary Academy Normanton
• Altofts Junior Academy Normanton

What is King's Meadow Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for King's Meadow Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was King's Meadow Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

King's Meadow Academy was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does King's Meadow Academy have?

King's Meadow Academy has 234 pupils on roll.

What age range does King's Meadow Academy cover?

King's Meadow Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are King's Meadow Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 45% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is King's Meadow Academy?

King's Meadow Academy is at Wakefield Road, Pontefract, WF9 5BP.