Park Junior School

Park Junior School is a smaller-than-average junior school that requires special measures after inspectors found it is failing to provide an acceptable standard of education and that leaders and governors lack the capacity to secure necessary improvement. Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils generally feel safe. Behaviour has improved, suspensions have reduced, and the school is calm and orderly, with warm staff-pupil relationships and strong pastoral support. Pupils benefit from memorable enrichment experiences and some take on responsibilities, but participation is not tracked well enough. The central concern is long-standing academic underachievement. Pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, make weak progress and leave with significant gaps in reading, writing and mathematics. The curriculum is underdeveloped and not well embedded in several subjects, teaching is inconsistent, and staff lack the subject expertise and training to deliver it effectively. Expectations are too low, additional funding has not been used well, and support for SEND pupils is not delivered as planned. Attendance remains too high, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Leadership and governance are also weak. The school has faced staffing instability, falling pupil numbers and reliance on external support. Leaders have identified the right issues but have not acted with enough urgency, staff morale is low, and governors have not held leaders to account effectively. Too many parents feel their concerns are not listened to. The report sets out urgent next steps to improve curriculum, teaching, inclusion, attendance, staff trust and governance.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• Behaviour has improved, suspensions have reduced and the school is calm and orderly.
• Pupils generally behave well, listen in lessons and show positive attitudes to learning.
• Staff build warm, caring relationships with pupils.
• Pupils understand that discrimination is not acceptable and feel bullying is dealt with effectively.
• High-quality pastoral support helps pupils and families build confidence and resilience.
• Pupils benefit from memorable enrichment experiences such as the Remembrance parade, forest school and community performances.
• Alternative provision is used appropriately to support individual pupils' needs.
• Staff show genuine care and empathy, especially towards pupils with SEND, and promote mental wellbeing.
• Leaders have taken meaningful steps to improve attendance, including breakfast club places.
• Governors are committed and dedicated to the school.
• Pupils in Year 6 take on responsibilities such as house captains and school councillors.

Areas for Improvement

• Long-standing underachievement means pupils do not make the progress they should.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND achieve poorly and struggle to keep up.
• Pupils leave primary school without secure English and mathematics skills.
• Significant gaps in reading, writing and mathematics do not close quickly enough.
• Weak presentation, including poor letter and number formation, creates a barrier to learning.
• The curriculum is underdeveloped, lacks ambition and is not coherently sequenced in several subjects.
• Staff lack the expertise and subject knowledge to deliver the curriculum effectively.
• Teaching does not identify or address gaps in pupils' knowledge well enough.
• Expectations for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are too low.
• Additional funding has not been used effectively to provide timely, high-quality teaching.
• SEND support plans are not delivered as intended, and learning targets lack precision.
• Leaders have not acted with enough urgency and have lost sight of pupils' best interests.
• Staff feel undervalued and unsupported, and morale is low.
• Governance has been ineffective in holding senior leaders to account.
• Governors do not sufficiently question how additional funding, including pupil premium, is used.
• Attendance and punctuality are not analysed precisely, so pupils miss too much school.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND still miss school too frequently.
• Personal development does not secure pupils' understanding of fundamental British values or protected characteristics.
• Some staff lack confidence to deliver the personal development programme as intended.
• Younger pupils have limited opportunities to develop character, leadership and independence.
• Leaders do not track participation in enrichment to ensure all groups access it.
• Too many parents and carers feel their concerns are not listened to.
• The school relies heavily on external support and leaders lack the knowledge and skills to sustain improvement.
• Staffing instability has affected the consistency of pupils' education.

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 Park Junior School attended 92.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 25.8% 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, 5.9% of pupils at Park Junior School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Park Junior School had 15.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.4% 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, 16.3% of pupils at Park Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 12.6% 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 Park Junior School received £11,455 and spent £10,680 for each of its 135 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £373,000 (£2,765 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).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Stonehouse · Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

What is Park Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Park Junior School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Park Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Park Junior School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Park Junior School have?

Park Junior School has 135 pupils on roll.

What age range does Park Junior School cover?

Park Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Park Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 43% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Park Junior School?

Park Junior School is at Elm Road, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, GL10 2NP.