Foljambe Primary School

Foljambe Primary School is an inclusive and welcoming school where pupils feel safe and cared for. This was its first routine section 5 inspection since opening in 2022, and it is part of Wickersley Partnership Trust; it also runs the Magna Lane resourced provision for pupils with SEND. Behaviour and personal development are strong, safeguarding is effective, and pupils benefit from a broad set of experiences. New leaders, backed by the trust, have stabilised the school and quickly reduced absence and poor behaviour. However, pupils do not consistently receive the quality of education they should. The curriculum is well considered and ambitious, but teaching is variable, gaps in pupils’ knowledge are not closed quickly enough, and achievement remains too low, including in national assessments. Pupils with SEND are well supported in Magna Lane but their experience in mainstream lessons is less strong, and some early readers do not secure phonics quickly enough. Early years provision also needs improvement. Leadership and management require improvement. Leaders have an accurate view of the school and staff feel supported, but many initiatives are new and their impact is not yet evident. The trust has not done enough to help the governing board scrutinise the school’s work and hold leaders to account, which limits the pace of improvement.

Strengths

• Inclusive, welcoming culture where pupils feel safe and cared for.
• Pupils behave well and treat one another with kindness.
• Pupils benefit from a well-considered and ambitious curriculum.
• Strong personal development with rich experiences, clubs and responsibilities.
• Pupils learn important safety, health and consent knowledge.
• Accurate identification and effective support for pupils with SEND, particularly in Magna Lane.
• Effective safeguarding arrangements.
• New leaders have stabilised the school and reduced absence and poor behaviour.
• Staff feel well supported by the trust and leaders understand what needs to change.
• Pupils enjoy reading and older pupils discuss books knowledgeably.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils’ achievement is too low, including in national assessments.
• Teaching and curriculum implementation are inconsistent across lessons.
• Gaps in pupils’ knowledge from historic curriculum weaknesses are not closed rapidly.
• Pupils with SEND experience less strong support in mainstream lessons.
• Some early readers do not secure phonics knowledge quickly enough.
• Pupils are not consistently resilient when work is challenging, which can affect behaviour.
• Early years provision requires improvement.
• Governance is not sufficiently supported by the trust to scrutinise impact and hold leaders to account.
• Many new initiatives have not yet demonstrated impact.

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 Foljambe 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, 2.3% of pupils at Foljambe 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 Foljambe Primary School had 13.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 32.6% 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, 35.4% of pupils at Foljambe Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 18.1% 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 Foljambe Primary School received £8,716 and spent £9,724 for each of its 126 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £84,000 (£665 per pupil).

Across all 13 schools of Wickersley Partnership Trust, income was £8,491 and spending £8,459 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 Rotherham · Rotherham local authority: places and applications

Foljambe Primary School is part of Wickersley Partnership Trust, which runs 13 schools. The nearest others:

• Thrybergh Primary School Rotherham
• Thrybergh Academy Rotherham
• Clifton Community School Rotherham
• Rawmarsh Ashwood Primary School Rotherham
• Rawmarsh Sandhill Primary School Rotherham
• Wickersley School and Sports College Rotherham
• Rawmarsh Community School Rotherham
• Monkwood Primary School Rotherham
• Brinsworth Whitehill Primary School Rotherham
• Aston Lodge Primary School Sheffield

What is Foljambe Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Foljambe Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Foljambe Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Foljambe Primary School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Foljambe Primary School have?

Foljambe Primary School has 144 pupils on roll.

What age range does Foljambe Primary School cover?

Foljambe Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 26% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Foljambe Primary School?

Foljambe Primary School is at Foljambe Drive, Rotherham, S65 4HQ.