School Chooser

Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School

Primary · ages 4-11MixedChurch of England210 pupilsPontefractWakefield
School Chooser Score
74
Above
similar schools
Likely range 49 to 88, so it could be “in line”
Out of 100. Better than 72% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, February 2023
Reached the expected level at 1173%England 63%
Attendance95.6%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families14%Far fewer than most schools
PlacesFull210 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher25.1School workforce census

Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School is a Church of England school (voluntary controlled) in Pontefract for boys and girls aged 4 to 11. It has 210 pupils and every place is taken. About 14 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 74 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 72% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

Badsworth Ce J&I (Vc) School, Main Street, Badsworth, Main Street, Pontefract, WF9 1AJ01977 649157badsworthceschool.co.ukMiss Jenny Griffiths headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 8 February 2023 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1173%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level13%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score106.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score106.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 69%69%20172018: 59%59%20182019: 63%63%20192023: 56%56%20232024: 77%77%20242025: 73%73%2025
Since 2017: +4%Improving overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017WakefieldEngland
Pupils tested303027302929
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths73%77%56%63%59%69%65%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths13%20%4%3%14%17%9%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score106.0109.0104.0104.0105.0104.0104.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score106.0105.0103.0105.0103.0104.0104.6104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score106.0108.0105.0106.0106.0107.0104.0105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard83%90%70%77%66%72%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard90%83%67%77%66%79%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)87%87%63%90%90%83%
Reading progressReading progress score-0.2-1.4-1.2+1.0
Maths progressMaths progress score-0.5-0.7-2.8+0.9
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged44%67%17%33%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged86%79%67%65%

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. None of the gaps is 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
44%86%
Gap 42 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
80%67%
Gap 13 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%13%
Gap 13 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. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Nearly full205 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
98% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have grown by 6% 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 Wakefield council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

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 roll210Census January 2026
Places210100% full
Pupils from low-income families14%14% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English5%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support11%22 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%7 pupils with a plan
Average class size29.85 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils40%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)11%£35,650 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls96 / 114
White British pupils95%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 30.5 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.3 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (12), language and communications needs (8), Specific learning difficulty (4), Moderate learning difficulty (3), Autistic spectrum disorder (1), Hearing impairment (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll210206204196194195
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals14%15%13%16%13%8%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language5%2%2%3%3%1%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support13%9%11%12%9%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%2%3%3%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 95.6% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance95.6%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school13.4%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils1.52024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.3%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.4%4.7%5.6%5.3%2.5%4.0%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.0%3.2%3.7%4.1%1.9%2.7%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.3%1.5%1.9%1.2%0.6%1.4%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence13.4%10.2%14.4%13.1%1.1%6.2%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate1.50.00.00.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers8.4full-time equivalent, 9 people
Pupils per teacher25.1Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants5.5full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,902
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.82024/25

Money

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

Spend per pupil£6,012England £7,738. Total £1.2m
Income per pupil£6,048England £7,697. Total £1.2m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,824England £3,480
Money in reserve4%Not much put by: £45k, £220 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£7,457it took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,012spent 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 m1512 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate56 per 1,000 people39% lower than the England average
Typical house price£200,000Wakefield
Nearest bus stop60 mBadsworth Church, 6 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
Upton Primary SchoolCouncil1.4 miles453Good 202214Compare
Ackworth Mill Dam SchoolAcademy1.6 miles225Report card 202660Compare
Ackworth Howard Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant SchoolChurch of England1.7 miles229Good 202488Compare
Outwood Primary Academy Bell LaneAcademy1.9 miles320Good 202286Compare
Ash Grove Primary AcademyAcademy2.2 miles265Good 202311Compare
Moorthorpe Primary School With Inclusion ResourceCouncil2.3 miles216Good 202410Compare
Grove Lea Primary SchoolAcademy2.4 miles244No overall grade 202592Compare
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, MoorthorpeAcademy2.4 miles204Good 202234Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School with the 47 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 47 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats72%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the upper half of its group. Its score of 74 is 14 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 9 · middle 60 · highest 96100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 47 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Middlestown Primary AcademyAcademy12.3 miles217Report card 202596Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 74 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 74% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 49 to 88. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. 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%in line
+0.08
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 30 pupils
Ofsted inspection19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.6 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
-0.01
DfE progress measure; 30 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%well above
+0.13
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%in line
+0.03
2024/25; 179 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%above
+0.06
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 30 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 Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School scores 74 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 72% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 49 to 88, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been getting better over the last five years.

What is Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School good at its last full inspection on 8 February 2023.

How good are Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 73% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 13% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School have?

210 pupils aged 4 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 100% full.

Is Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School oversubscribed?

Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.

What is attendance like at Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School?

Pupils were in school 95.6% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 13% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School?

The average class had 29.8 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 40% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

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

Contact and details

Address
Badsworth Ce J&I (Vc) School, Main Street, Badsworth, Main Street, Pontefract, WF9 1AJ
Telephone
01977 649157
Website
www.badsworthceschool.co.uk
Headteacher
Miss Jenny Griffiths
Type of school
Church of England school (voluntary controlled) (Voluntary controlled school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 4-11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of Leeds (ce)
Local authority
Wakefield
Ward
Ackworth, North Elmsall and Upton
Constituency
Normanton and Hemsworth
Setting
Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 September 1996
URN
130964 · LAESTAB 3843022 · UKPRN 10075567
Formerly
Badsworth CofE First School, Ackworth Middle School

Where these figures come from