School Chooser

Abbeyfield Primary Academy

Primary · ages 3-11MixedAcademy429 pupilsNursery Free breakfast clubSheffield
School Chooser Score
10
Well below
similar schools
Likely range 6 to 19
Out of 100. Better than 25% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, October 2024
Reached the expected level at 1159%England 63%
Attendance89.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families48%Far more than most schools
Places67 spare429 pupils, 496 places
Pupils per teacher18.3School workforce census

Abbeyfield Primary Academy is a sponsored academy in Sheffield for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 429 pupils and room for 496. About 48 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 10 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 25% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2024, no overall grade.

Orphanage Road, Sheffield, S3 9AN0114 242 0109abbeyfieldprimaryacademy.co.ukMs Kate Abell headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 8 October 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

54 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1159%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level2%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score102.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score102.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 62%62%20172018: 68%68%20182019: 55%55%20192023: 49%49%20232024: 58%58%20242025: 59%59%2025
Since 2017: -3%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017SheffieldEngland
Pupils tested545756535650
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths59%58%49%55%68%62%59%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths2%4%2%8%2%10%6%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score102.0103.0102.0101.0103.0100.0104.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score102.0103.0101.0103.0103.0101.0103.7104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score102.0101.0100.0105.0107.0104.0104.4105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard69%68%59%58%70%62%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard67%61%59%75%77%70%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)69%68%55%70%73%72%
Reading progressReading progress score-2.3+1.5+0.8-0.6
Maths progressMaths progress score-1.6+2.2+0.8+1.5
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged43%55%43%48%52%32%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged71%61%56%64%79%86%

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 2 of the 4 gaps are smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Low-income pupils vs other pupils
43%71%
Gap 28 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
62%56%
Gap 6 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
59%59%
No gapEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%2%
Gap 2 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Catchment area

Sheffield council has drawn an official catchment area for this school. You can see it on the map below; it covers about 0.7 square kilometres. Living inside it moves your child up the queue when there are more applicants than places. It doesn't guarantee a place: the council's admissions rules decide the order.

Set your home postcode at the top of the page to see whether you live inside it.

A few spare places396 pupils for 420 places, 2024/25
94% full

About 24 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have grown by 5% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Sheffield council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

What a home inside the catchment costs

Typical sale price inside the catchment£130,000half sold for £100k to £179k
Homes sold39December 2023 to December 2025, Land Registry
Compared with the district-40%a typical home in the district sells for £217,000

Every home sold inside the council's catchment area, of any type, from HM Land Registry records. If homes here cost more than the district average, that is the price people pay to live close enough to get in.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll429Census January 2026
Places49686% full
Pupils from low-income families45%48% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English58%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support20%85 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan6%25 pupils with a plan
Average class size25.715 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)48%£274,350 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls226 / 203
White British pupils4%

Specialist SEND provision. SEN unit with 22 pupils, for social, emotional and mental health.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Sheffield with social, emotional and mental health provision.

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 24.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 26.6 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (66), emotional and mental health (14), Autistic spectrum disorder (10), Moderate learning difficulty (5), Physical disability (5), Other difficulty or disability (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll429452438442416395
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals45%46%42%43%46%46%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language58%61%61%64%64%65%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support21%18%20%21%19%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans4%4%3%2%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 89.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance89.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school35.6%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils1.12024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission5.1%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence10.3%9.2%9.9%9.1%6.2%5.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence5.1%4.0%4.4%4.4%3.4%3.1%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence5.1%5.2%5.5%4.8%2.8%2.4%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence35.6%31.9%37.8%34.5%17.8%18.8%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate1.10.23.42.41.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers21.9full-time equivalent, 23 people
Pupils per teacher18.3Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants23.5full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£46,302
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies1
Sick days per teacher11.82024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£6,993England £7,128. Total £3.0m
Income per pupil£7,419England £7,587. Total £3.2m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,833England £3,405
Money in reserve8%Not much put by: £253k, £590 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£183kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,993spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m60912 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate144 per 1,000 people58% higher than the England average
Nearest bus stop80 mFirshill Crescent/Firshill Rise, 25 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
St Catherine's Catholic Primary School (Hallam)Academy190 m466Outstanding 202288Compare
Byron Wood Primary AcademyAcademy690 m395No overall grade 202513Compare
Astrea Academy SheffieldFree school0.7 miles1,070Good 202259Compare
Whiteways Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles436Not inspected31Compare
Watercliffe Meadow Community Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles480Good 202027Compare
Oasis Academy Fir ValeAcademy0.7 miles389Report card 20265Compare
Pye Bank CofE Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles446Good 202217Compare
E-ACT Pathways AcademyAcademy0.9 miles381No overall grade 202526Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Abbeyfield Primary Academy with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats25%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 10 is 27 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 4 · middle 37 · highest 96100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 10 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 10% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 6 to 19. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years25%below
-0.16
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 54 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 1.9 years old
Progress pupils make20%below
-0.15
DfE progress measure; 54 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
-0.01
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well below
-0.30
2024/25; 407 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%below
-0.07
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 54 pupils
What parents say0%no data

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Abbeyfield Primary Academy a good school?

The figures are weak. Abbeyfield Primary Academy scores 10 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 25% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 6 to 19, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Abbeyfield Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Abbeyfield Primary Academy not judged at its last full inspection on 8 October 2024.

How good are Abbeyfield Primary Academy's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 59% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 2% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Abbeyfield Primary Academy have?

429 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 496 places, so it is 86% full.

Is Abbeyfield Primary Academy oversubscribed?

Probably not. 24 places were empty in 2024/25 (6% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Abbeyfield Primary Academy?

Pupils were in school 89.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 36% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Abbeyfield Primary Academy?

The average class had 25.7 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

Does Abbeyfield Primary Academy have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It has sen unit for social, emotional and mental health. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

Does Abbeyfield Primary Academy have a breakfast club?

Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Orphanage Road, Sheffield, S3 9AN
Telephone
0114 242 0109
Website
abbeyfieldprimaryacademy.co.uk
Headteacher
Ms Kate Abell
Free breakfast club
Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
Type of school
Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Five Rivers Multi Academy Trust (2 schools)
Local authority
Sheffield
Ward
Burngreave
Constituency
Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 August 2016 (new provision)
URN
143052 · LAESTAB 3732046 · UKPRN 10057464
Formerly
Firs Hill Community Primary School

Where these figures come from