Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #89 in Wakefield public Top 87% UK

Sandal Castle VA Community Primary School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMrs Caroline Butterworth

location_onWakefield, WF2 6AS

language Visit Website phone 1924303525

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

618

school

Expected Standard

45%

local_fire_department

Demand Ratio

0.8x

summarize

Sandal Castle VA Community Primary School is a Voluntary aided school primary school in Wakefield, serving ages 4-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Ranks in the top 87% of primary schools nationally.

article

School Summary

Sandal Castle VA Community Primary School is a voluntary aided school in Wakefield, admitting pupils aged 4-11. The school has approximately 618 pupils on roll, of whom 25% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 45% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 3% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #89 of 98 primaries in Wakefield and #12,668 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2025. The school's current overall rating is Good. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Requires improvement, behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement, personal development Requires improvement, and leadership and management Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 0.8× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 24.9:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 0.5 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

45%

LA 64%

Reading55% LA 74%

Writing64% LA 75%

Maths61% LA 75%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

52%

LA 63%England 61%

Reading67% LA 73% · Eng 74%

Writing57% LA 74% · Eng 72%

Maths70% LA 74% · Eng 73%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

104

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

38%

LA 59%England 60%

Reading48% LA 69% · Eng 73%

Writing64% LA 73% · Eng 71%

Maths51% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Read SS

100

Maths SS

100

GPS SS

102

Progress (0 = national avg)

-5.6

Read

LA -0.7

-7.0 to -4.2

-2.8

Write

LA 0.1

-4.1 to -1.5

-5.2

Maths

LA 0.0

-6.5 to -3.8

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

82%

LA 63%England 65%

Reading88% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Writing88% LA 78% · Eng 78%

Maths86% LA 78% · Eng 79%

Read SS

110

Maths SS

106

GPS SS

111

Progress (0 = national avg)

3.5

Read

LA -0.7

2.1 to 4.8

3.2

Write

LA 0.1

2.0 to 4.5

-0.6

Maths

LA -0.1

-1.8 to 0.6

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

74%

LA 60%

Reading86% LA 71%

Writing82% LA 77%

Maths79% LA 72%

Read SS

112

Maths SS

107

GPS SS

110

Progress (0 = national avg)

5.2

Read

LA -0.7

3.9 to 6.5

Write

LA 0.1

1.8 to 4.2

1.1

Maths

LA -0.6

-0.1 to 2.3

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

07 January 2025

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

16 October 2019

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

23 June 2015

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

11 March 2015

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

26 November 2014

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

11 June 2014

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

25 February 2014

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

14 June 2011

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

03 October 2007

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

07 February 2007

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

30 June 2003

Inspection Report

picture_as_pdf Download PDF

Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2025-01-07

S5 Inspection EIF

Not Judged

info

Why no overall grade?

From autumn 2024, Ofsted stopped issuing a single headline grade (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate). Instead, each inspection area is graded individually. This follows a major review after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. The overall effectiveness field is left as "Not judged" in the published data.

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Requires improvement

Development

Requires improvement

Leadership

Good

2015-06-23

Schools into Special Measures Visit 4 EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2014-02-25

None EIF

Inadequate

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Inadequate

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

gavel

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

0.2%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

0.2%(1 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 618 pupils. During this period, there were 1 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 0.2%, which is below the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg
2024/25 (Spring term)	618	1	0.2%	0.8%
2024/25 (Autumn term)	621	5	0.8%	0.9%
2023/24 (Summer term)	623	1	0.2%	0.8%
2023/24 (Spring term)	625	1	0.2%	0.7%
2023/24 (Autumn term)	614	6	1.0%	0.8%
2022/23 (Summer term)	617	10	1.6%	0.7%
2022/23 (Spring term)	618	9	1.5%	0.6%
2022/23 (Autumn term)	611	4	0.7%	0.6%
2021/22 (Summer term)	618	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Spring term)	623	0	0.0%	0.5%
2021/22 (Autumn term)	618	0	0.0%	0.5%
2020/21 (Summer term)	619	0	0.0%	0.4%
2020/21 (Spring term)	620	0	0.0%	0.1%
2020/21 (Autumn term)	619	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Summer term)	606	0	0.0%	0.0%
2019/20 (Spring term)	606	0	0.0%	0.4%
2019/20 (Autumn term)	605	1	0.2%	0.6%
2018/19 (Summer term)	622	0	0.0%	0.4%
2018/19 (Spring term)	614	0	0.0%	0.5%
2018/19 (Autumn term)	615	2	0.3%	0.5%
2017/18 (Summer term)	610	0	0.0%	0.5%
2017/18 (Spring term)	605	0	0.0%	0.4%
2017/18 (Autumn term)	605	0	0.0%	0.5%
2016/17 (Summer term)	619	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Spring term)	613	0	0.0%	0.4%
2016/17 (Autumn term)	612	0	0.0%	0.5%

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

accessibility_new

psychology_alt

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Speech, Language & Communication 56 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 30 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 14 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 12 pupils

Physical Disability 10 pupils

Hearing Impairment 4 pupils

Visual Impairment 2 pupils

Top Primary Schools in Wakefield

Other highly-ranked schools in the same local authority

View all arrow_forward

Stanley St Peters Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Good

location_on Wakefield, WF3 4HS

emoji_events #1 in LA

Stanley Grove Primary and Nursery Academy

Good

location_on Wakefield, WF3 4NT

emoji_events #2 in LA

Carleton Park Junior and Infant School

Good

location_on Pontefract, WF8 3PT

emoji_events #3 in LA

Rooks Nest Academy

Good

location_on Wakefield, WF1 3DX

emoji_events #4 in LA

Ossett Southdale Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School

Good

location_on Ossett, WF5 8BA

emoji_events #5 in LA

Normanton Junior Academy

Good

location_on Normanton, WF6 1EY

emoji_events #6 in LA

View all schools in Wakefield arrow_forward

Sandal Castle VA Community Primary School

School Summary

Academic Performance

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Inspection History

Admissions Insight

How Places Are Allocated

Faith Priority (Church of England)

Distance to School

School Capacity

Primary Admission Trends

Students & School Environment

School Size

Language Diversity

Inclusive Support

Attendance

Ethnicity Breakdown

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Funding & Staffing

School Funding Allocation

Funding Breakdown

Staffing

Teacher Turnover

Top Primary Schools in Wakefield

Stanley St Peters Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Stanley Grove Primary and Nursery Academy

Carleton Park Junior and Infant School

Rooks Nest Academy

Ossett Southdale Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School

Normanton Junior Academy