SCHOOL PROFILE

Athersley North Primary School

Primary Community school URN 131157
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 280 Published school capacity
Capacity used 103.6% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 3 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest inspection

19 May 2026
Latest published outcome Met
Renewed framework
Safeguarding Met
Inclusion Expected standard
Curriculum & teaching Expected standard
Achievement Needs attention
Attendance & behaviour Needs attention
Personal development Expected standard
Leadership & governance Expected standard
INSPECTION HISTORY

Previous Ofsted activity

24 May 2022
Graded inspection Good
Published 12 July 2022
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Community school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Does not apply
Local authority Barnsley
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 290 270 full-time · 20 part-time
Female pupils 151 52.1% of pupils
Male pupils 139 47.9% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

54.8%
30.0 pts above England
School 54.8%
Barnsley 29.7%
Yorkshire and The Humber 27.7%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

11.0%
9.3 pts below England
School 11.0%
Barnsley 8.6%
Yorkshire and The Humber 17.9%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.7%
0.3 pts below England
School 0.7%
Barnsley 0.3%
Yorkshire and The Humber 0.4%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
81.0%
235
Any other White background
9.0%
26
Any other Black background
2.1%
6
Any other Mixed background
2.1%
6
Traveller of Irish heritage
1.4%
4
White and Asian
1.4%
4
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 31.4% 91 of 290 pupils
10.6 pts above England England: 20.8%
School 31.4%
Barnsley 20.9%
Yorkshire and The Humber 20.9%
England 20.8%
SEN support 25.5% 74 pupils
England 14.8% 10.7 pts above
EHC plans 5.9% 17 pupils
England 6.0% 0.2 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 33
Social, emotional & mental health 27
Moderate learning difficulty 21
Specific learning difficulty 7
Autistic spectrum disorder 3

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

49.0% 11.4 pts below England
School 49.0%
Barnsley 64.7%
Yorkshire and The Humber 60.2%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

54.0%

19.8 pts below England

School 54.0%
Barnsley 75.8%
Yorkshire and The Humber 72.8%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

63.0%

7.3 pts below England

School 63.0%
Barnsley 72.1%
Yorkshire and The Humber 70.2%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

59.0%

13.0 pts below England

School 59.0%
Barnsley 76.9%
Yorkshire and The Humber 71.9%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

8.25%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

2.04 pts higher than England
School 8.25%
Barnsley 6.02%
Yorkshire and The Humber 6.13%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

21.70%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

5.89 pts higher than England
School 21.70%
Barnsley 14.48%
Yorkshire and The Humber 15.55%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

3.83%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

2.03 pts higher than England
School 3.83%
Barnsley 1.88%
Yorkshire and The Humber 1.77%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

103.6% 15.4 pts above England
Athersley North Primary School
103.6%
Barnsley
97.1%
Yorkshire and The Humber
88.6%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information