School Chooser

Silkstone Common Junior and Infant School

Primary · ages 5-11MixedCouncil135 pupilsBarnsley
School Chooser Score
86
Well above
similar schools
Likely range 67 to 94, so it could be “above”
Out of 100. Better than 90% of the 50 schools most like it. Getting better year on year.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, October 2022
Reached the expected level at 1184%England 63%
Attendance96.0%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families7%Far fewer than most schools
Places15 spare135 pupils, 150 places
Pupils per teacher22.5School workforce census

Silkstone Common Junior and Infant School is a council school in Barnsley for boys and girls aged 5 to 11. It has 135 pupils and room for 150. About 7 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 86 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 90% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.

Moorend Lane, Silkstone Common, Barnsley, S75 4QT01226 790471silkstonecommonji.co.ukMr S M Tabbner headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 12 October 2022, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

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

19 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 1184%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level16%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score110.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score109.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 81%81%20172018: 74%74%20182019: 76%76%20192023: 76%76%20232024: 81%81%20242025: 84%84%2025
Since 2017: +3%Improving overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017BarnsleyEngland
Pupils tested192121212721
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths84%81%76%76%74%81%66%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths16%5%10%24%7%33%8%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score110.0107.0107.0107.0108.0112.0105.6105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score109.0108.0107.0108.0106.0110.0104.8104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score111.0109.0109.0111.0110.0114.0105.0105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard95%90%90%86%93%100%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard95%95%86%95%78%95%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)84%86%90%86%85%86%
Reading progressReading progress score+1.1+0.5+1.4+4.1
Maths progressMaths progress score+2.2+1.3-0.1+2.7

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 11Boys vs girls
90%78%
Gap 12 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.

Nearly full134 pupils for 140 places, 2024/25
96% 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 fallen by 4% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

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 Barnsley 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 roll135Census January 2026
Places15090% full
Pupils from low-income families7%7% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English0%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support7%10 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%3 pupils with a plan
Average class size27.05 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)5%£9,300 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls67 / 68
White British pupils92%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (3), Moderate learning difficulty (3), Specific learning difficulty (3), emotional and mental health (2), language and communications needs (2).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll135134136135139147
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals7%5%8%10%10%8%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language0%1%0%0%0%0%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support8%10%13%9%3%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans4%4%2%1%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.0%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school7.0%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.9%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.1%4.2%5.9%6.4%1.8%3.6%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.1%2.3%3.4%4.8%1.2%2.0%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.9%1.9%2.5%1.6%0.6%1.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence7.0%6.8%16.4%17.1%0.8%3.1%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.00.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers6.0full-time equivalent, 7 people
Pupils per teacher22.5Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants5.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£58,516
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher18.92024/25

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£6,495England £7,738. Total £870k
Income per pupil£6,636England £7,697. Total £889k
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,277England £3,480
Money in reserve7%Not much put by: £63k, £468 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out+£19kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£6,495spent 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 m3912 months to June 2026, mostly anti-social behaviour
Local crime rate49 per 1,000 people46% lower than the England average
Nearest bus stop250 mKnabbs Lane/Moorend Lane, 9 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
Silkstone Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles200Good 202382Compare
Dodworth St John the Baptist CofE Primary AcademyAcademy1.6 miles104Requires improvement 202311Compare
Keresforth Primary SchoolCouncil1.9 miles224Good 202267Compare
Thurgoland Church of England (Voluntary Controlled) Primary SchoolChurch of England1.9 miles202Good 202292Compare
Oxspring Primary SchoolCouncil2.0 miles135Good 202481Compare
Hoylandswaine Primary SchoolAcademy2.1 miles94Inadequate 202284Compare
Cawthorne Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary SchoolChurch of England2.3 miles160Good 202488Compare
Springvale Primary SchoolCouncil2.4 miles227Good 202387Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Silkstone Common Junior and Infant 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.

Beats90%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the top quarter of its group. Its score of 86 is 23 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 3 · middle 63 · highest 95100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 86 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 86% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 67 to 94. 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%above
+0.15
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 19 pupils
Ofsted inspection18% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old)in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 3.9 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.08
DfE progress measure; 19 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%above
+0.09
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.09
2024/25; 115 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.13
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 19 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 Silkstone Common Junior and Infant School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Silkstone Common Junior and Infant School scores 86 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 90% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 67 to 94, 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 Silkstone Common Junior and Infant School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Silkstone Common Junior and Infant School good at its last full inspection on 12 October 2022.

How good are Silkstone Common Junior and Infant School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 84% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 16% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Silkstone Common Junior and Infant School have?

135 pupils aged 5 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 150 places, so it is 90% full.

Is Silkstone Common 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 Silkstone Common Junior and Infant School?

Pupils were in school 96.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 7% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Silkstone Common Junior and Infant School?

The average class had 27.0 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
Moorend Lane, Silkstone Common, Barnsley, S75 4QT
Telephone
01226 790471
Website
www.silkstonecommonji.co.uk
Headteacher
Mr S M Tabbner
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 5-11
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Barnsley
Ward
Penistone East
Constituency
Penistone and Stocksbridge
Setting
Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
106589 · LAESTAB 3702082 · UKPRN 10078422

Where these figures come from