Menston Primary School

Menston Primary School is performing well overall. Safeguarding standards are met, and the school has strong practice in attendance and behaviour, early years, and personal development and wellbeing. Pupils are happy, safe and proud of their school; behaviour is calm and respectful, attendance is improving, and children in Reception get off to a strong start. The school’s caring and inclusive culture is a standout feature, with effective pastoral support and a wide range of opportunities for pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Achievement, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance are at the expected standard. Pupils generally achieve well from their starting points, reading is a particular strength, and published outcomes are broadly in line with or sometimes above national averages. Leaders know the school well, governance and trust support are effective, and parents speak highly of the school. The main areas for improvement are consistency in teaching and assessment. Checking of pupils’ understanding is not always precise enough to identify misconceptions and gaps, and learning is not always matched closely to pupils’ next steps, so some pupils spend too long on knowledge they have already secured. In-lesson support and adaptations for pupils with additional needs are also inconsistent at times. The school is part of Moorlands Learning Trust.

Strengths

• Strong, caring and inclusive culture where pupils behave well and bullying is rare.
• High priority on attendance with effective support and improving attendance for disadvantaged and SEND pupils.
• Excellent early years provision with an ambitious curriculum and a strong start for children.
• Comprehensive personal development programme and highly effective pastoral support.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of visits, clubs, residential experiences and leadership opportunities.
• Reading and phonics are particular strengths.
• Inclusive support for vulnerable pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Leaders, governors and trust work well together and know the school accurately.
• Staff value professional development and leaders consider wellbeing and workload.
• Parents speak highly of the school.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment and checking of pupils’ understanding are not consistently precise, so misconceptions and gaps are sometimes missed.
• Teaching is not always adapted closely enough to pupils’ next steps, and some pupils practise knowledge they have already secured.
• Support staff are not always guided effectively enough to adapt learning for all pupils.
• The quality of in-lesson support for pupils with SEND and additional needs can be inconsistent.

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 Menston Primary School attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.0% 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, 0.3% of pupils at Menston 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 Menston Primary School had 23.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 11.8% of pupils at Menston Primary School 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 Menston Primary School received £6,387 and spent £6,444 for each of its 390 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £318,000 (£816 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of Moorlands Learning Trust, income was £5,833 and spending £5,918 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 Ilkley · Bradford local authority: places and applications

Menston Primary School is part of Moorlands Learning Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Burley Oaks Primary School Ilkley
• Benton Park School Leeds
• Ben Rhydding Primary School Ilkley
• Ilkley Grammar School Ilkley
• Ashlands Primary School Ilkley
• Eastburn Primary School Keighley
• Talbot Primary School Leeds
• The Skipton Academy Skipton
• Nidderdale High School Harrogate

What is Menston Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Menston Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Menston Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Menston Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Menston Primary School have?

Menston Primary School has 398 pupils on roll.

What age range does Menston Primary School cover?

Menston Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

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

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Menston Primary School?

Menston Primary School is at St. Peters Way, Menston, Ilkley, West Yorkshire, LS29 6NY.