Harthill Primary School

Harthill Primary School is a good school overall, with all key judgements rated good except early years provision, which is outstanding. Inspectors found a strong values-driven culture built around belonging, ambition, resilience and kindness, helping pupils to feel safe, valued and happy. Pupils behave well, are kind and polite, and benefit from a well-considered personal development offer that includes meaningful leadership roles and community involvement. The curriculum is broad and ambitious and has been carefully designed for mixed-age classes, with strong phonics and reading provision and effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children in the early years thrive in a stimulating and nurturing environment. The main areas for improvement relate to the wider curriculum. Tasks do not consistently enable pupils to apply their learning in sufficient depth, and pupils’ work in subjects beyond the core curriculum is not as strong as their work in English and mathematics. Assessment is not used well enough to check how well pupils are learning the wider curriculum, and teachers do not always check understanding well enough in lessons. Leaders also do not check whether their wider curriculum aims are realised well enough, meaning some pupils do not learn the intended curriculum as well as they should. Safeguarding is effective, attendance is in line with national figures, and staff are proud to work at the school. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Harthill Primary is an academy converter and is part of the James Montgomery Academy Trust.

Strengths

• Strong values create a sense of belonging and safety for pupils
• Pupils are kind, polite and behave well
• Broad and ambitious curriculum designed for mixed-age classes
• Strong phonics teaching and reading provision
• Ambitious and effective support for pupils with SEND
• Outstanding early years provision with a stimulating and nurturing environment
• Well-considered personal development and pupil leadership opportunities
• Effective attendance systems in line with national figures
• Supportive environment for staff with attention to wellbeing
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

Areas for Improvement

• Tasks in the wider curriculum do not consistently enable pupils to apply learning in sufficient depth
• Pupils’ work in the wider curriculum is weaker than in core subjects such as English
• Teachers do not always check pupils’ understanding well enough during lessons
• Assessment is not used well enough to identify gaps in wider curriculum learning
• Leaders do not check whether wider curriculum aims are realised well enough
• Some pupils do not learn the intended curriculum as well as they should

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 Harthill Primary School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.2% 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, 2.5% of pupils at Harthill 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 Harthill Primary School had 23.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 26.0% 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, 16.8% of pupils at Harthill Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.7% 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 Harthill Primary School received £6,414 and spent £6,602 for each of its 161 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £6,000 (£39 per pupil).

Across all 20 schools of James Montgomery Academy Trust, income was £6,982 and spending £6,835 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 Sheffield · Rotherham local authority: places and applications

Harthill Primary School is part of James Montgomery Academy Trust, which runs 20 schools. The nearest others:

• Kiveton Park Infant School Sheffield
• Kiveton Park Meadows Junior School Sheffield
• Anston Hillcrest Primary School Sheffield
• Laughton Junior and Infant School Sheffield
• Thurcroft Infant School Rotherham
• Brinsworth Howarth Primary School Rotherham
• Bramley Sunnyside Junior School Rotherham
• St Ann's Primary School Rotherham
• Ferham Primary School Rotherham
• Meadow View Primary School Rotherham

What is Harthill Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Harthill Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Harthill Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Harthill Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Harthill Primary School have?

Harthill Primary School has 149 pupils on roll.

What age range does Harthill Primary School cover?

Harthill Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

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

In 2025, 59% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Harthill Primary School?

Harthill Primary School is at Union Street, Harthill, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S26 7YH.