School Chooser

Lowfield Community Primary School

Primary · ages 5-11MixedCouncil409 pupilsSheffield
School Chooser Score
40
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 23 to 61
Out of 100. Better than 45% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, June 2022
Reached the expected level at 1162%England 63%
Attendance94.0%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families40%Far more than most schools
Places5 spare409 pupils, 414 places
Pupils per teacher21.4School workforce census

Lowfield Community Primary School is a council school in Sheffield for boys and girls aged 5 to 11. It has 409 pupils and room for 414. About 40 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 40 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 45% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.

London Road, Sheffield, S2 4NJ0114 255 2501lowfield-primary-school.comMrs Anne Barker headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 22 June 2022 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.

This inspection is more than 4 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1162%
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 score105.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score105.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 61%61%20172018: 66%66%20182019: 65%65%20192023: 44%44%20232024: 60%60%20242025: 62%62%2025
Since 2017: +1%Improving overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017SheffieldEngland
Pupils tested555855573844
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths62%60%44%65%66%61%59%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths2%0%0%2%0%11%6%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score105.0104.0102.0103.0104.0105.0104.8105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score105.0105.0103.0105.0104.0105.0103.7104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score107.0107.0104.0110.0106.0108.0104.4105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard75%78%65%82%76%70%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard78%78%71%82%84%82%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)67%71%53%75%74%84%
Reading progressReading progress score-0.4+2.9+5.6+4.2
Maths progressMaths progress score+2.0+3.7+6.1+3.6
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged63%48%45%58%52%59%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged61%72%42%73%87%67%

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. 3 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
63%61%
Gap 2 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
57%67%
Gap 10 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Pupils learning English vs all pupils
60%62%
Gap 2 ptsEngland 4 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
4%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 1.1 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.

Full404 pupils for 398 places, 2024/25
102% full

The school is full, with 6 more pupils than it has places for. More families apply than can get in, so things like how close you live and whether an older brother or sister is already here decide who gets a place. Pupil numbers have grown by 4% 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£135,500half sold for £99k to £179k
Homes sold90December 2023 to December 2025, Land Registry
Compared with the district-38%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 roll409Census January 2026
Places41499% full
Pupils from low-income families40%40% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English88%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support10%41 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%12 pupils with a plan
Average class size29.410 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)38%£234,050 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls216 / 193
White British pupils2%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 29.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.7 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (29), Autistic spectrum disorder (7), emotional and mental health (7), Moderate learning difficulty (6), Severe learning difficulty (2), Hearing impairment (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll409408406405385363
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals40%37%41%42%40%44%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language88%86%86%84%83%87%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support13%11%12%13%13%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%1%1%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 94.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance94.0%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school18.3%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils2.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.6%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.0%6.5%8.0%7.1%5.3%4.7%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.4%4.4%5.0%5.5%4.9%3.4%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.6%2.2%3.0%1.6%0.4%1.3%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence18.3%23.5%25.9%23.7%14.1%12.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate2.00.31.00.03.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers19.1full-time equivalent, 24 people
Pupils per teacher21.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants17.6full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£50,794
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher3.22024/25

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£7,603England £7,738. Total £3.1m
Income per pupil£7,618England £7,697. Total £3.1m
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,038England £3,480
Money in reserve4%Not much put by: £108k, £265 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£6,084it took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£7,603spent 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 m81312 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate123 per 1,000 people35% higher than the England average
Nearest bus stop10 mLondon Road/Queens Road, 26 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
Sharrow Nursery, Infant and Junior SchoolAcademy380 mGood 2024Compare
Anns Grove Primary SchoolAcademy410 m434Good 202057Compare
Nether Edge Primary SchoolAcademy0.6 miles478No overall grade 202591Compare
Carfield Primary SchoolCouncil0.7 miles538Report card 202682Compare
Porter Croft Church of England Primary AcademyAcademy0.8 miles214No overall grade 202578Compare
Meersbrook Bank Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles229Good 202270Compare
Springfield Primary SchoolCouncil1.0 miles207Good 201925Compare
Arbourthorne Community Primary SchoolCouncil1.0 miles473Good 202211Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Lowfield Community 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.

Beats45%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the lower half of its group. Its score of 40 is 15 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 2 · middle 55 · highest 100100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 40 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 40% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 23 to 61. 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
-0.09
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 55 pupils
Ofsted inspection17% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 4.2 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
-0.03
DfE progress measure; 55 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%well above
+0.13
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.07
2024/25; 377 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%below
-0.07
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 55 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 Lowfield Community Primary School a good school?

It is about average. Lowfield Community Primary School scores 40 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 45% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 23 to 61, 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 Lowfield Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Lowfield Community Primary School good at its last full inspection on 22 June 2022. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.

How good are Lowfield Community Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 62% 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 Lowfield Community Primary School have?

409 pupils aged 5 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 414 places, so it is 99% full.

Is Lowfield Community Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably. The school was full in 2024/25, with 6 more pupils than places. How close you live, and the school's other admissions rules, decide who gets in.

What is attendance like at Lowfield Community Primary School?

Pupils were in school 94.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 18% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Lowfield Community Primary School?

The average class had 29.4 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class 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
London Road, Sheffield, S2 4NJ
Telephone
0114 255 2501
Website
www.lowfield-primary-school.com
Headteacher
Mrs Anne Barker
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 5-11
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Sheffield
Ward
Nether Edge and Sharrow
Constituency
Sheffield Central
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
106997 · LAESTAB 3732070 · UKPRN 10078408

Where these figures come from