When should a child begin to train, and why the old fear was wrong
Most parents think lifting weights is dangerous for children. Twenty years of paediatric consensus disagree, and the reason has more to do with the nervous system than with muscle.
Barnsley
Birdwell Primary School
Academy converter · ages 4–11 · 188 pupils
Part of HCAT
23% free school meals 4% English as an additional language (Year 6) 4% SEN support (Year 6)
Year 6 results
Reading, writing and maths
Share of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/25.
| Year | School | Local area | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 69% | – | 60% |
| 2023/24 | 82% | – | 61% |
| 2024/25 | 85% | – | 63% |
| 3-year average | 79% |
27 pupils took the tests in 2025, so each child moves the school's result by about 4 percentage points. Results in small schools swing from year to year; the three-year average is steadier.
Average scaled scores in 2025: reading 108, maths 107 (100 is the expected standard). Higher standard in reading, writing and maths: 19%.
There are no results for 2019/20 or 2020/21, when the tests were cancelled. What do SATs scores mean?
Inspection
What Ofsted found
Report card published 05/03/2026. Ofsted grades each area on a five-point scale, from urgent improvement to exceptional.
| Inclusion | Strong standard |
| Curriculum and teaching | Strong standard |
| Achievement | Strong standard |
| Attendance and behaviour | Strong standard |
| Personal development and wellbeing | Strong standard |
| Early years | Expected standard |
| Leadership and governance | Strong standard |
| Safeguarding | Met |