School Chooser

Thurcroft Junior Academy

Primary · ages 7-11MixedAcademy289 pupilsNursery Free breakfast clubRotherham
School Chooser Score
62
In line with
similar schools
Likely range 44 to 78
Out of 100. Better than 88% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, March 2025
Reached the expected level at 1176%England 63%
Attendance93.8%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families46%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull289 pupils, 280 places
Pupils per teacher25.2School workforce census

Thurcroft Junior Academy is a sponsored academy in Rotherham for boys and girls aged 7 to 11. It has 289 pupils, 9 more than it has places for. About 46 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 63 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 88% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2025, no overall grade.

Green Arbour Road, Thurcroft, Rotherham, S66 9DD01709 543194thurcroftacademy.orgMrs Ruth Stone principalAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 25 March 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”
Good
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Good
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Outstanding
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

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

Reached the expected level at 1176%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level5%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score105.0
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: 65%65%20172018: 66%66%20182019: 54%54%20192023: 54%54%20232024: 75%75%20242025: 76%76%2025
Since 2017: +11%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017RotherhamEngland
Pupils tested585774466252
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths76%75%54%54%66%65%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths5%5%7%4%2%6%6%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score105.0105.0103.0101.0103.0103.0104.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score106.0106.0104.0105.0106.0103.0103.6104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score105.0105.0104.0104.0106.0106.0103.9105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard86%82%62%59%69%75%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard86%93%77%78%85%75%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)79%79%81%78%94%90%
Reading progressReading progress score-2.2-3.5-4.1-1.5
Maths progressMaths progress score+0.4-0.7+0.0-1.8
Expected level: low-income pupilsExpected standard, disadvantaged58%73%50%41%58%48%
Expected level: other pupilsExpected standard, non-disadvantaged91%77%62%67%76%77%

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
58%91%
Gap 33 ptsEngland 21 pts
Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
80%71%
Gap 9 ptsEngland 5 pts
Reached the higher level at 11Low-income pupils vs all pupils
0%5%
Gap 5 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.

A few spare places261 pupils for 280 places, 2024/25
93% full

About 19 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 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 roll289Census January 2026
Places280103% full
Pupils from low-income families44%46% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English6%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support18%51 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan7%20 pupils with a plan
Average class size30.38 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils75%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)45%£193,750 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls151 / 138
White British pupils88%

Specialist SEND provision. SEN unit with 9 pupils, for autism, speech, language and communication.

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 Rotherham with autism provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (23), Autistic spectrum disorder (18), Specific learning difficulty (14), emotional and mental health (12), Hearing impairment (2), Moderate learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll289291274275276261
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals44%46%45%47%41%41%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language6%6%3%2%2%2%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support17%16%16%25%19%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans3%3%1%2%2%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance93.8%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school14.2%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils4.52024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission2.6%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.2%5.8%5.5%6.4%3.3%3.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence3.6%3.2%3.8%4.6%2.3%2.5%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence2.6%2.6%1.7%1.8%1.0%1.4%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence14.2%14.7%13.2%20.0%6.0%5.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate4.50.70.70.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers11.2full-time equivalent, 12 people
Pupils per teacher25.2Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants14.2full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£52,535
Teachers who left in the year8%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.22024/25

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£5,948England £7,128. Total £1.7m
Income per pupil£6,900England £7,587. Total £2.0m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,656England £3,405
Money in reserve37%A lot put by: £747k, £2,566 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£277kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£5,948spent 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 m46612 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate117 per 1,000 people29% higher than the England average
Typical house price£190,000Rotherham
Nearest bus stop40 mSchool Road/Green Arbour Road, 20 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
Thurcroft Infant SchoolAcademy410 m232No overall grade 202578Compare
Laughton All Saints' CofE Primary SchoolAcademy1.4 miles104Requires improvement 20249Compare
Laughton Junior and Infant SchoolAcademy1.5 miles188Good 202330Compare
St Alban's CofE (Aided) Primary SchoolAcademy2.2 miles246Good 202095Compare
Dinnington Community Primary SchoolAcademy2.4 miles184Requires improvement 20242Compare
Wickersley Northfield Primary SchoolAcademy2.5 miles443Good 202392Compare
Bramley Grange Primary SchoolAcademy2.5 miles209Report card 202653Compare
Bramley Sunnyside Junior SchoolAcademy2.5 miles331Not inspectedCompare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Thurcroft Junior Academy 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.

Beats88%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the top quarter of its group. Its score of 63 is 29 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 34 · highest 95100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 63 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 63% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 44 to 78. 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
0.00
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 58 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.05
Ofsted grade, 1.5 years old
Progress pupils make20%in line
-0.04
DfE progress measure; 58 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%above
+0.08
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.05
2024/25; 268 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.11
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 58 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 Thurcroft Junior Academy a good school?

It is about average. Thurcroft Junior Academy scores 63 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 88% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 44 to 78, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Thurcroft Junior Academy's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Thurcroft Junior Academy not judged at its last full inspection on 25 March 2025.

How good are Thurcroft Junior Academy's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 76% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 5% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Thurcroft Junior Academy have?

289 pupils aged 7 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 280 places, so it is 103% full.

Is Thurcroft Junior Academy oversubscribed?

Probably not. 19 places were empty in 2024/25 (7% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Thurcroft Junior Academy?

Pupils were in school 93.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 14% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Thurcroft Junior Academy?

The average class had 30.3 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 75% of classes had more than 30 pupils.

Does Thurcroft Junior Academy have specialist SEND provision?

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

Does Thurcroft Junior 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
Green Arbour Road, Thurcroft, Rotherham, S66 9DD
Telephone
01709 543194
Website
www.thurcroftacademy.org
Principal
Mrs Ruth Stone
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 7-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Aston Community Education Trust (12 schools)
Local authority
Rotherham
Ward
Thurcroft & Wickersley South
Constituency
Rother Valley
Setting
Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 July 2012 (new provision)
URN
138357 · LAESTAB 3722000 · UKPRN 10037575
Formerly
Thurcroft Junior School

Where these figures come from