Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School
Carleton Road, Carleton, Pontefract, WF8 3NP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- ARK SCHOOLS
- Executive Headteacher
- Mr David Dunn
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- ARK Schools
- SEN provision
- HI - Hearing Impairment
- Constituency
- Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 316
- Pupils on roll
- 330
- URN
- 139504
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01977600368
About this school
Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School is a primary academy in Pontefract. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 330 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
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 | 44 | 44 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 85% | 84% | 73% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 28% | 20% | 32% |
| Expected standard in reading | 85% | 89% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 90% | 86% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 91% | 77% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 110.0 | 112.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 110.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +8.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +6.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +5.60 | - | - |
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 Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Wakefield average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 85% | 59.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 84% | 62.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 73% | 63.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 315 |
| 2023/24 | 322 |
| 2024/25 | 320 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School compares
Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School ranked 29th of 97 primary schools in Wakefield for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 73% | 3.7% | 20.9% | 330 | — |
| Ark Carleton Park Primary School | 87% | 3.2% | 21.7% | 208 | 0.6 miles |
| Ark De Lacy Primary School | 80% | 4.6% | 51.9% | 342 | 0.7 miles |
| Ark Larks Hill Primary School | 97% | 2.4% | 6.4% | 203 | 1.0 miles |
| Cherry Tree Academy | 49% | 7.4% | 50% | 233 | 1.0 miles |
| Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy | 35% | 8.3% | 28.1% | 199 | 1.0 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)
- 20.92%
- English as an additional language
- 4.1%
- Overall absence
- 3.7%
- Persistent absence
- 5.51%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ark Carleton Park Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Ark De Lacy Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Ark Larks Hill Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Cherry Tree Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Holy Family and St Michael's Catholic Primary School, A Voluntary Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Pontefract
Other schools in Pontefract
Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School ranks 13th of the 33 ranked primary schools in Pontefract.
- Ackworth Howard Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School Primary
- Ackworth Mill Dam School Primary
- Ark Carleton Park Primary School Primary
- Ark De Lacy Primary School Primary
- Ark Halfpenny Lane Primary School Primary
- Ark Larks Hill Primary School Primary
- Ark Northfield Primary School Primary
- Ark Orchard Head Primary School Primary
- Ash Grove Primary Academy Primary
- Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School Primary
- Cherry Tree Academy Primary
- Darrington Church of England Primary School Primary
Recorded changes at this school
- School name changed from Ark the Rookeries Carleton Primary School to Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School recorded 6 Oct 2026
- School name changed from The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School to Ark the Rookeries Carleton Primary School recorded 22 Sep 2026
Common questions
- What year groups does Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School teach?
- Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Pontefract.
- Who is the executive headteacher of Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School?
- The executive headteacher of Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School is Mr David Dunn, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School, 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 Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School?
- Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School has 330 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School full?
- Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School has capacity for 316 pupils and 330 on roll (104%), so it is at or above 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 Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School a faith school?
- No. Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School?
- Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School is part of ARK SCHOOLS. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 85% in 2022/23 and 73% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School rank locally?
- Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School ranked 29th of 97 primary schools in Wakefield for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 73% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School's absence rate?
- Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ark The Rookeries Carleton Primary School'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 6 October 2026.