Ofsted: Good trending_up Popular emoji_events #125 in Bradford public Top 83% UK

The Academy At St. James

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

personMr Chris Tolson

corporate_fareBRADFORD DIOCESAN ACADEMIES TRUST

location_onBradford, BD15 7YD

language Visit Website phone 1274777095

verified

Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2022

groups

Students

309

school

Expected Standard

49%

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Demand Ratio

1.1x

summarize

The Academy At St. James is a Academy sponsor led primary school in Bradford, serving ages 2-11. Rated Good by Ofsted. Demand is above capacity (1.1×) — apply through your local authority on time. Ranks in the top 83% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

The Academy At St. James is an academy sponsor led in Bradford, admitting pupils aged 2-11. It is part of BRADFORD DIOCESAN ACADEMIES TRUST. The school has approximately 337 pupils on roll, of whom 48% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 49% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 2% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #125 of 156 primaries in Bradford and #11,119 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2022. The school's current overall rating is Good. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Good, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Outstanding.

The school is oversubscribed — in the most recent cycle, there were 1.1× as many applications as places, making a successful application competitive.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 23.3:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 2.3 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

49%

LA 60%

Reading68% LA 73%

Writing66% LA 70%

Maths59% LA 71%

Read SS

104

Maths SS

102

GPS SS

101

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

38%

LA 58%England 61%

Reading48% LA 71% · Eng 74%

Writing52% LA 70% · Eng 72%

Maths52% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Read SS

100

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

45%

LA 57%England 60%

Reading68% LA 69% · Eng 73%

Writing68% LA 71% · Eng 71%

Maths63% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

101

GPS SS

101

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.9

Read

LA -0.6

-2.9 to 1.2

1.2

Write

LA 0.1

-0.8 to 3.2

-1.6

Maths

LA -0.1

-3.5 to 0.4

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

57%

LA 62%England 65%

Reading59% LA 70% · Eng 73%

Writing70% LA 76% · Eng 78%

Maths75% LA 77% · Eng 79%

Read SS

102

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

103

Progress (0 = national avg)

0.0

Read

LA 0.4

-1.8 to 1.8

1.6

Write

LA 0.6

-0.1 to 3.3

0.9

Maths

LA 0.8

-0.7 to 2.5

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

28%

LA 60%

Reading50% LA 71%

Writing52% LA 75%

Maths37% LA 73%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

101

Progress (0 = national avg)

-1.6

Read

LA 0.2

-3.3 to 0.1

-0.5

Write

LA 0.7

-2.2 to 1.2

-2.6

Maths

LA 0.8

-4.2 to -1

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

04 May 2022

Inspection Report

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05 November 2019

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

4 Evaluations

2022-05-04

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 EIF

Good

Education

Good

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Outstanding

2019-11-05

Academy First Section 5 EIF

Requires improvement

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2016-04-13

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 EIF

Inadequate

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Inadequate

2014-01-22

None Legacy

Requires improvement

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Development

Leadership

Requires improvement

history Predecessor Link

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

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

Suspension Rate

1.5%per term

warning Above Average

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

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

1.2%(4 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 337 pupils. During this period, there were 5 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 1.5%, which is above the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	337	5	1.5%	0.8%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	326	10	3.1%	0.9%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	344	18	5.2%	0.8%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	327	13	4.0%	0.7%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	315	14	4.4%	0.8%	0
2022/23 (Summer term)	328	11	3.4%	0.7%	0
2022/23 (Spring term)	309	6	1.9%	0.6%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	295	7	2.4%	0.6%	1
2021/22 (Summer term)	303	6	2.0%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	295	9	3.1%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	292	6	2.1%	0.5%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	330	13	3.9%	0.4%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	320	2	0.6%	0.1%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	302	10	3.3%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	320	4	1.2%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	320	10	3.1%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	313	14	4.5%	0.6%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	345	3	0.9%	0.4%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	328	9	2.7%	0.5%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	321	17	5.3%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Summer term)	340	5	1.5%	0.5%	0
2017/18 (Spring term)	325	11	3.4%	0.4%	0
2017/18 (Autumn term)	312	24	7.7%	0.5%	0
2016/17 (Summer term)	337	37	11.0%	0.4%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	334	16	4.8%	0.4%	0

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

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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 30 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 10 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 5 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 5 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 4 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 4 pupils

Severe Learning Difficulty 1 pupils

Visual Impairment 1 pupils

Physical Disability 1 pupils