Ackworth Mill Dam School
Mill Gate, Ackworth, Pontefract, WF7 7PH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- WATERTON ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Clare Holloway
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Waterton Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Normanton and Hemsworth
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 236
- Pupils on roll
- 225
- URN
- 144563
- Local authority
- Wakefield
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01924967602
About this school
Ackworth Mill Dam School is a primary academy in Pontefract. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 225 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Ackworth Mill Dam School, and its latest judgement is set out 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 16 | 26 | 25 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 56% | 69% | 68% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 4% | 24% |
| Expected standard in reading | 63% | 69% | 76% |
| Expected standard in maths | 88% | 85% | 72% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 81% | 85% | 64% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 102.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 106.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | -3.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.70 | - | - |
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 Ackworth Mill Dam 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 | 56% | 59.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 69% | 62.8% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 68% | 63.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 222 |
| 2023/24 | 233 |
| 2024/25 | 219 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Ackworth Mill Dam School compares
Ackworth Mill Dam School ranked 43rd of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 68% | 4.6% | 16.9% | 225 | — |
| Outwood Primary Academy Bell Lane | 83% | 4.6% | 11.1% | 320 | 0.4 miles |
| Ackworth Howard Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School | 80% | 4.1% | 3.9% | 229 | 0.7 miles |
| Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School | 73% | 4.4% | 15.1% | 210 | 1.6 miles |
| Fitzwilliam Primary School | 50% | 4.9% | 30.8% | 224 | 1.8 miles |
| King's Meadow Academy | 45% | 6.8% | 45.7% | 234 | 1.9 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 16.92%
- English as an additional language
- 2.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.59%
- Persistent absence
- 8.52%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Outwood Primary Academy Bell Lane0.4 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Ackworth Howard Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School0.7 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Badsworth Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant School1.6 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
Fitzwilliam Primary School1.8 miles
Primary · Pontefract
-
King's Meadow Academy1.9 miles
Primary · Pontefract
Other schools in Pontefract
Ackworth Mill Dam School ranks 17th of the 33 ranked primary schools in Pontefract.
- Ackworth Howard Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior and Infant 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
- Featherstone Purston St Thomas Church of England Voluntary Controlled Junior School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Ackworth Mill Dam School teach?
- Ackworth Mill Dam School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Pontefract.
- Who is the headteacher of Ackworth Mill Dam School?
- The headteacher of Ackworth Mill Dam School is Clare Holloway, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Ackworth Mill Dam School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Ackworth Mill Dam 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 many pupils are at Ackworth Mill Dam School?
- Ackworth Mill Dam School has 225 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Ackworth Mill Dam School full?
- Ackworth Mill Dam School has capacity for 236 pupils and 225 on roll (95%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Ackworth Mill Dam School a faith school?
- No. Ackworth Mill Dam School has no designated religious character.
- Does Ackworth Mill Dam School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Ackworth Mill Dam School as having nursery classes.
- Is Ackworth Mill Dam School part of an academy trust?
- Ackworth Mill Dam School is part of WATERTON ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Ackworth Mill Dam School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 56% in 2022/23 and 68% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Ackworth Mill Dam School compare with other schools in Wakefield?
- Ackworth Mill Dam School ranked 43rd of 98 primary schools in Wakefield for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 71% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Ackworth Mill Dam School's absence rate?
- Ackworth Mill Dam School's overall absence rate is 4.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Ackworth Mill Dam School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Ackworth Mill Dam 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 15 July 2026.