School Chooser

Ferham Primary School

Primary · ages 2-11MixedAcademy228 pupilsNursery Free breakfast clubRotherham
School Chooser Score
2
Well below
similar schools
Likely range 1 to 5
Out of 100. Better than 8% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, January 2025
Reached the expected level at 1113%England 63%
Attendance88.1%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families71%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull228 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher16.5School workforce census

Ferham Primary School is a sponsored academy in Rotherham for boys and girls aged 2 to 11. It has 228 pupils, 18 more than it has places for. About 71 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 2 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 8% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.

Ferham Road, Rotherham, S61 1AP01709 740962ferhamprimary.org.ukMrs Vikki Fenton headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 28 January 2025, 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”
Requires improvement
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Requires improvement
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

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

Reached the expected level at 1113%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score96.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score95.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 21%21%20172018: 24%24%20182019: 26%26%20192023: 17%17%20232024: 7%7%20242025: 13%13%2025
Since 2017: -8%Declining overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure2025202420232019†2018†2017†RotherhamEngland
Pupils tested242730272524
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths13%7%17%26%24%21%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%6%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score96.092.096.094.095.092.0104.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score95.092.096.099.095.094.0103.6104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score93.092.094.0100.096.096.0103.9105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard29%15%33%26%28%29%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard33%15%37%44%28%33%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)21%15%27%52%44%29%
Reading progressReading progress score-0.5-5.7-3.6-3.7
Maths progressMaths progress score-0.6-2.5-1.5-3.3
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged0%6%19%19%8%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged22%31%36%33%36%

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.

† These results are for Ferham Primary School, the school this one replaced in October 2021. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

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. 1 of the 2 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 11Boys vs girls
18%0%
Gap 18 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
9%13%
Gap 4 ptsEngland 4 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.

Nearly full200 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
95% 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 stayed about the same since 2021/22.

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 Rotherham 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 roll228Census January 2026
Places210109% full
Pupils from low-income families62%71% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English80%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support28%63 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%7 pupils with a plan
Average class size24.49 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils22%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)68%£206,150 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls122 / 106
White British pupils5%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 27.3 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.5 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (46), emotional and mental health (9), Specific learning difficulty (7), Autistic spectrum disorder (5), Hearing impairment (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census20262025202420232022
Pupils on roll228224238242232
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals62%67%61%57%52%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language80%80%82%77%73%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support25%23%11%16%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans3%2%2%4%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 88.1% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance88.1%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school47.3%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.52024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission8.2%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/21†2018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence12.0%14.1%12.4%9.6%4.7%10.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.7%4.4%4.9%3.7%2.9%4.2%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence8.2%9.7%7.5%5.9%1.8%6.8%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence47.3%57.5%53.6%35.0%12.2%48.7%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.51.32.51.7
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions0011

† These attendance figures are for Ferham Primary School, the school this one replaced in October 2021. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Staff and money

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

Teachers13.0full-time equivalent, 13 people
Pupils per teacher16.5Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants10.7full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£51,831
Teachers who left in the year16%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher0.22024/25

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£8,265England £7,128. Total £1.8m
Income per pupil£9,202England £7,587. Total £2.1m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,274England £3,405
Money in reserve9%A healthy amount put by: £180k, £808 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£209kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£8,265spent 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 m51812 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate164 per 1,000 people80% higher than the England average
Typical house price£190,000Rotherham
Nearest bus stop10 mFerham Road/Devonshire Street, 24 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
Thornhill Primary SchoolCouncil580 m316Good 202263Compare
Kimberworth Community Primary SchoolCouncil910 m246Good 202455Compare
Meadow View Primary SchoolAcademy0.9 miles225No overall grade 202420Compare
St Bede's Catholic Primary SchoolAcademy1.0 miles347No overall grade 202471Compare
Canklow Woods Primary SchoolAcademy1.3 miles245No overall grade 202512Compare
St Ann's Primary SchoolAcademy1.3 miles374Good 20236Compare
Redscope Primary SchoolAcademy1.4 miles417Good 202350Compare
Tinsley Meadows Primary SchoolAcademy1.4 miles650Good 202313Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Ferham Primary School with the 49 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 49 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats8%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the bottom of its group. Its score of 2 is 34 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 0 · middle 36 · highest 99100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 49 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Ferham Primary 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
Eastwood Village Primary SchoolAcademy1.6 miles195Good 202419Compare
Owler Brook Primary SchoolAcademy3.1 miles411Good 202459Compare
High Hazels Junior SchoolAcademy3.3 miles356Good 202039Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 2 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 2% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 1 to 5. 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%well below
-0.40
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 24 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%well below
-0.25
Ofsted grade, 1.6 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
-0.01
DfE progress measure; 24 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%below
-0.05
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well below
-0.29
2024/25; 184 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well below
-0.28
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 24 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 Ferham Primary School a good school?

The figures are weak. Ferham Primary School scores 2 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 8% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 1 to 5, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Ferham Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Ferham Primary School not judged at its last full inspection on 28 January 2025.

How good are Ferham Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 13% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Ferham Primary School have?

228 pupils aged 2 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 109% full.

Is Ferham Primary 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 Ferham Primary School?

Pupils were in school 88.1% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 47% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Ferham Primary School?

The average class had 24.4 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 22% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

Does Ferham Primary School 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
Ferham Road, Rotherham, S61 1AP
Telephone
01709 740962
Website
www.ferhamprimary.org.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Vikki Fenton
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 2-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
James Montgomery Academy Trust (20 schools)
Local authority
Rotherham
Ward
Rotherham West
Constituency
Rotherham
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 October 2021 (new provision)
URN
148013 · LAESTAB 3722043 · UKPRN 10086787
Formerly
Ferham Primary School

Where these figures come from