Lift Shafton
High Street, Shafton, Barnsley, S72 8QA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- LIFT SCHOOLS
- Headteacher
- Mrs Jo-Anne Charalambous
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Lift Schools
- Constituency
- Barnsley North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 280
- Pupils on roll
- 247
- URN
- 139004
- Local authority
- Barnsley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01226710386
About this school
Lift Shafton is a primary academy in Barnsley. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 247 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 6 November 2024, where inspectors found the school has improved significantly. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 40 | 39 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 70% | 74% | 59% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 20% | 5% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 79% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 80% | 82% | 66% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 78% | 90% | 62% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 105.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 105.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.90 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Lift Shafton has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Barnsley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 70% | 61.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 74% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 59% | 64.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 257 |
| 2023/24 | 247 |
| 2024/25 | 243 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Lift Shafton compares
Lift Shafton ranked 56th of 73 primary schools in Barnsley for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 59% | 4.4% | 23.5% | 247 | — |
| Cherry Dale Primary School | 63% | 4.8% | 33.8% | 326 | 0.6 miles |
| Churchfield Primary School | 80% | 5.8% | 32.4% | 419 | 1.1 miles |
| Brierley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School | 86% | 6.7% | 22.6% | 205 | 1.1 miles |
| Milefield Primary School | 67% | 7.2% | 42.4% | 294 | 1.2 miles |
| South Hiendley Primary School | 65% | 6.8% | 36.1% | 184 | 1.4 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 23.46%
- English as an additional language
- 5.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.41%
- Persistent absence
- 11.27%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Cherry Dale Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Barnsley
-
Churchfield Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Barnsley
-
Brierley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Barnsley
-
Milefield Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Barnsley
-
South Hiendley Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Barnsley
Other schools in Barnsley
Lift Shafton ranks 45th of the 59 ranked primary schools in Barnsley.
- All Saints Academy Darfield Primary
- Athersley North Primary School Primary
- Athersley South Primary School Primary
- Bank End Primary Academy Primary
- Barugh Green Primary School Primary
- Birdwell Primary School Primary
- Birkwood Primary School Primary
- Brampton Cortonwood Infant School Primary
- Brierley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Burton Road Primary School Primary
- Carlton Primary Academy Primary
- Cawthorne Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Lift Shafton teach?
- Lift Shafton teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Barnsley.
- Who is the headteacher of Lift Shafton?
- The headteacher of Lift Shafton is Mrs Jo-Anne Charalambous, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Lift Shafton last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Lift Shafton, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Lift Shafton?
- Lift Shafton has 247 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Lift Shafton full?
- Lift Shafton has capacity for 280 pupils and 247 on roll (88%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Lift Shafton a faith school?
- No. Lift Shafton has no designated religious character.
- Does Lift Shafton have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Lift Shafton as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Lift Shafton?
- Lift Shafton is part of LIFT SCHOOLS. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Lift Shafton's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 70% in 2022/23 and 59% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Lift Shafton rank locally?
- Lift Shafton ranked 56th of 73 primary schools in Barnsley for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 38% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 74% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Lift Shafton's absence rate?
- Lift Shafton's overall absence rate is 4.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Lift Shafton's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Lift Shafton's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.