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Ark Carleton Park Primary School

Primary · Pontefract · WF8 3PT

Data updated

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Outstanding

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: OutstandingBehaviour & attitudes: OutstandingPersonal development: OutstandingLeadership & management: OutstandingSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 15 October 2024

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

208 pupils · 95% of 218 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy sponsor led
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Free school meals
21.2% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
5.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
6.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
3.9% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
https://arkcarletonpark.org.uk/
URN
140337

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 34 families named it first for 30 Reception places, 1.13 first choices per place. Its last Reception place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 1.421 miles, the only Reception round we hold for it. At its inspection on 15 October 2024 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Outstanding. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 3.1% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.13 first-choice applications per place

30 places offered · 34 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places by distance, last offered at 1.421 miles for 2026 entry.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 1.421 miles

measured in a straight line.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

30 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
87%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
23%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
107
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
108
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school87%
Median of its 12 closest peers59%
Wakefield average64.8%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Howard Park Community SchoolCleckheaton · 17 miles awayGood59%
Luddenham SchoolFaversham · 187 miles awayGood37%
Bishops Hull Primary SchoolTaunton · 200 miles awayGood76%
Ackworth Mill Dam SchoolPontefract · 3 miles awayExpected standard68%
Our Lady and St Joseph's Catholic Primary SchoolRotherham · 13 miles awayGood69%
Gilberdyke Primary SchoolBrough · 24 miles awayOutstanding74%
Hertford Heath Primary and Nursery SchoolHertford · 141 miles awayGood36%
St Richard's Catholic Primary School, SkelmersdaleSkelmersdale · 62 miles awayGood54%
Bosmere Community Primary SchoolIpswich · 144 miles awayGood30%
Uffculme Primary SchoolCullompton · 210 miles awayGood59%
Eynesbury CofE C Primary SchoolSt Neots · 110 miles awayGood48%
Normandy Village SchoolGuildford · 170 miles awayInadequate85%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 90% (Wakefield 77%, England 60%) · Any other White background 2% (Wakefield 5%, England 7%) · Black African 2% (Wakefield 4%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Wakefield 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Wakefield 1%, England 2%) · Not recorded 1% (Wakefield 1%, England 1%) · other groups together 2%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
3.1%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
8.3%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.00 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Wakefield: 3.31 suspensions and 0.01 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
24.2
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

88% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 12% moved to another state school

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

33.3% of teachers took sickness absence, 4 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £46,495; 33.3% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£6,000
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 75% (77%) · premises 8% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (8%) · supplies and services 9% (9%) · educational supplies 6% (4%) · bought-in professional services 2% (2%) · catering 5% (5%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £0; in-year balance +£131,000

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
6/10around the middle for England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
6/10around the middle for England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher32.6%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications15.9%18.1%
In managerial or professional work36.4%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways12.8%18.1%
Residents in very good health46%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier77.1%62.3%
Social housing7.7%17.1%
Privately rented15.1%20.5%
Detached houses27.2%22.9%
Flats3.2%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms24.2%21.1%
Households with no car or van15.8%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01011846 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£227,000312 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£185,000–£286,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (112)£314,000
Semi-detached (157)£203,000
Terraced (37)£175,000
Flat (6)£126,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Inside the Reception cutoff distance (2.29 km, 2026 entry): 898 sales, median £210,000. The homes that would have got a child in that year, at the straight-line distance the school last filled to.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
3an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
9an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
15an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
4an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools