Whaley Thorns Primary School

Whaley Thorns Primary School is a small academy converter within TEAM Education Trust, and this was its first routine section 5 inspection. The school has high expectations and a caring ethos, with pupils describing a safe environment and mostly positive behaviour. Leaders have an ambitious curriculum and there is strong provision in early years, reading, personal development and support for pupils with SEND. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and attendance has improved. However, the quality of education requires improvement because teaching is not consistently delivering the ambitious curriculum. Some teachers do not focus explanations and resources on the most important knowledge, and they do not routinely check pupils' understanding, so gaps and misconceptions are not always identified. Pupils sometimes lose focus and do not complete tasks, which limits their learning. The school has accurate improvement planning and good support from the trust, but these inconsistencies mean pupils are not yet as well prepared for their next steps as they should be.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe and know staff will support them if they have a concern.
• Most pupils behave well and enjoy school.
• The school's kindness curriculum helps pupils reflect on values such as humility, honesty and empathy.
• Pupils access clubs, educational visits and residentials that broaden their horizons and build resilience.
• The curriculum is ambitious and sets out what pupils should learn and when.
• Reading is prioritised, and pupils become accurate and fluent readers by the time they leave.
• Pupils with SEND are identified clearly and supported with personalised strategies to build confidence and regulate emotions.
• Most pupils attend well and have positive relationships with each other and staff.
• The early years curriculum is tailored to individual children and prepares them well for key stage 1.
• Leaders, governors and the trust accurately identify improvement priorities and provide effective support and training.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers' explanations and resources do not focus clearly enough on the most important knowledge pupils need to learn.
• Teachers do not routinely check pupils' understanding, so gaps and misconceptions are not always identified and resolved.
• Pupils sometimes lose focus and do not complete learning tasks, missing opportunities to develop understanding.
• The quality of education pupils receive is variable, and pupils do not always have secure knowledge across subjects.
• Pupils are not consistently as well prepared for their next steps as they should be.

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 Whaley Thorns Primary School attended 91.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 25.9% 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, 9.0% of pupils at Whaley Thorns Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 2 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 Whaley Thorns Primary School had 16.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 26.5% 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, 17.8% of pupils at Whaley Thorns Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.1% 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 Whaley Thorns Primary School received £8,958 and spent £9,676 for each of its 127 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £53,000 (-£414 per pupil).

Across all 20 schools of Learners' Trust, income was £8,896 and spending £8,606 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 Mansfield · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

Whaley Thorns Primary School is part of Learners' Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Model Village Primary School Mansfield
• Hodthorpe Primary School Worksop
• Brimington Manor Infant and Nursery School Chesterfield
• Eckington Junior School Sheffield
• Brimington Junior School Chesterfield
• New Whittington Community Primary School Chesterfield
• Mary Swanwick Primary School Chesterfield
• Ridgeway Primary School Sheffield
• Old Hall Junior School Chesterfield
• Ashgate Croft School Chesterfield

What is Whaley Thorns Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Whaley Thorns Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Whaley Thorns Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Whaley Thorns Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Whaley Thorns Primary School have?

Whaley Thorns Primary School has 118 pupils on roll.

What age range does Whaley Thorns Primary School cover?

Whaley Thorns Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

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

Where is Whaley Thorns Primary School?

Whaley Thorns Primary School is at Portland Road, Langwith, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG20 9HB.