The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School
Carleton Road, Carleton, Pontefract, WF8 3NP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- PONTEFRACT ACADEMIES TRUST
- Executive Headteacher
- Mr David Dunn
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Pontefract Academies Trust
- 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
The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant 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 The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant 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 The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School compares
The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School ranked 29th of 98 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 | — |
| Carleton Park Junior and Infant School | 87% | 3.2% | 21.7% | 208 | 0.6 miles |
| De Lacy Primary School | 80% | 4.6% | 51.9% | 342 | 0.7 miles |
| Larks Hill Junior and Infant 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
-
Carleton Park Junior and Infant School0.6 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
De Lacy Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Larks Hill Junior and Infant 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
The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant 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
- Ash Grove Primary Academy Primary
- Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School Primary
- Carleton Park Junior and Infant School Primary
- Cherry Tree Academy Primary
- Darrington Church of England Primary School Primary
- De Lacy Primary School Primary
- Featherstone All Saints CofE Academy Primary
- Featherstone Girnhill Infant School Primary
- Featherstone North Featherstone Junior and Infant School Primary
- Featherstone Purston Infant School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School teach?
- The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Pontefract.
- Who is the executive headteacher of The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School?
- The executive headteacher of The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School is Mr David Dunn, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant 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 The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School?
- The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School has 330 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School full?
- The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant 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 The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School a faith school?
- No. The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School has no designated religious character.
- Does The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School as having nursery classes.
- Who runs The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School?
- The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School is part of PONTEFRACT ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School have?
- The schools register lists The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School's special educational needs provision as: HI - Hearing Impairment. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant 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 The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School rank locally?
- The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School ranked 29th of 98 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 The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School's absence rate?
- The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School's overall absence rate is 3.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant 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 1 July 2026.