Lantern Academy

Lantern Academy is a welcoming and happy primary school where pupils are at the heart of decisions and achieve well. This was its first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection; it is part of the Learning Community Trust. Inspectors found strong provision overall, with particularly impressive personal development and early years provision. Pupils benefit from a broad curriculum, expert early reading, strong support for pupils with SEND and effective safeguarding. Leadership and governance are effective, and staff feel well supported. The main areas for improvement are the consistency of some subjects, where recent curriculum changes mean pupils are not always supported to build secure knowledge, and attendance, where a small number of pupils miss too much school despite improving work with families. Behaviour is good, relationships are strong and pupils are well cared for.

Strengths

• Welcoming, happy and calm school with high expectations and strong nurturing relationships.
• Pupils achieve well through a broad, well-planned and sequenced curriculum.
• Reading is central, with expert early reading teaching and well-matched phonics support.
• The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND, who are well supported.
• Early years provision gives children a firm foundation, with a strong focus on language and vocabulary.
• Personal development helps pupils develop mature, sensitive attitudes and a deep understanding of rights and equality.
• Pupils behave well, are respectful and are proud to belong to the school.
• Leadership and governance provide clear vision, appropriate support and challenge, and effective safeguarding.
• Staff feel well supported and valued by leaders.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, pupils are not supported well enough to develop a rich body of knowledge because training and support are not yet consistent.
• Some pupils miss school too often, which hinders their achievement, and attendance is not yet consistently strong.

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 Lantern Academy attended 92.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.3% 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, 2.4% of pupils at Lantern 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 Lantern Academy had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.3% 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, 31.9% of pupils at Lantern Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.3% 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 Lantern Academy received £8,666 and spent £8,835 for each of its 118 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £62,000 (-£528 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of Learning Community Trust, income was £11,793 and spending £11,570 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 Telford · Telford and Wrekin local authority: places and applications

Lantern Academy is part of Learning Community Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• New Road Academy Telford
• Hadley Learning Community - Secondary Phase Telford
• Hadley Learning Community - Primary Phase Telford
• Queensway Telford
• Ercall Wood Academy Telford
• Charlton School Telford
• Wrekin View Primary School Telford
• Allscott Meads Primary Academy Telford
• The Burton Borough School Newport
• Crudgington Primary School Telford

What is Lantern Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lantern Academy is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Lantern Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Lantern Academy was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Lantern Academy have?

Lantern Academy has 113 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lantern Academy cover?

Lantern Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Lantern Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Lantern Academy?

Lantern Academy is at Yates Way, Ketley Bank, Telford, Shropshire, TF2 0AZ.