Bankfoot Primary School

Bankfoot Primary School is a community primary in Bradford for pupils aged 3 to 11. Following this inspection, the school was judged good in all key areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This is a notable improvement from its previous inspection, when it required improvement. The headteacher joined in September 2024, and the school serves 246 pupils. Under the current inspection framework, no overall effectiveness grade is given. Pupils are proud of their school and have very positive attitudes to learning. They respond well to high expectations for behaviour and show the school’s community values in practice. The curriculum is well sequenced and helps pupils build knowledge over time, and reading is a particular strength, with well-trained staff and effective support for pupils who need extra help. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified accurately and supported to access the ambitious curriculum. Personal development is strong, with trips, visitors and visits to places of worship helping pupils learn about safety, different faiths and cultures. Leadership is effective, governance provides suitable challenge and support, staff feel valued, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement are assessment and writing. In some subjects, the school does not check what pupils have remembered over time, so gaps in knowledge are not always identified and addressed. Too few pupils have excelled in writing by the end of key stage 2, and although the school has introduced a new approach to writing, it is at an early stage and its impact has not yet been fully evaluated.

Strengths

• Pupils are proud of their school and have very positive attitudes to learning
• High expectations for behaviour are met and pupils model the school’s community values
• The curriculum is well sequenced and builds pupils’ knowledge over time
• Reading is a strength, with well-trained staff and effective support to close gaps
• Pupils with SEND are identified accurately and supported to access the ambitious curriculum
• Personal development is enriched by trips, visitors and visits to different places of worship
• Leaders and governors have an accurate overview of the school and provide suitable challenge and support
• Staff feel valued and the school considers their workload and well-being
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, the school does not check what pupils have remembered over time, leaving gaps in knowledge unaddressed
• Too few pupils achieve as highly in writing as they should by the end of key stage 2
• The new writing approach is at an early stage and its impact has not yet been fully evaluated

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Bankfoot Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Bankfoot Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Bankfoot Primary School had 22.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 9.7% of pupils at Bankfoot Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Bankfoot Primary School received £7,659 and spent £7,586 for each of its 231 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £102,000 (£443 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

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What is Bankfoot Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Bankfoot Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Bankfoot Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bankfoot Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Bankfoot Primary School have?

Bankfoot Primary School has 247 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bankfoot Primary School cover?

Bankfoot Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Bankfoot Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 83% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bankfoot Primary School?

Bankfoot Primary School is at Bolingbroke Street, Bankfoot, Bankfoot Primary School, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD5 9NR.