Parkside Community Primary School

Parkside Community Primary School has made significant strides in its overall performance since the last inspection, moving from an 'Requires Improvement' rating to 'Good'. Students are engaged and show a strong interest in learning, with many meeting the expected standards for their age. The school fosters a strong sense of community and provides ample opportunities for personal development, with a focus on safety and well-being. However, while improvements have been made in teaching practices, there are still areas for further development, particularly in ensuring consistency across the curriculum and improving attendance rates.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy school and are engaged in their learning.
• Good behavior is observed, with effective management of bullying.
• Strong community feeling with positive relationships among pupils and staff.
• Rapid improvements in educational quality through targeted training and support.
• Effective teaching of English and mathematics with clear curriculum focus.
• Well-structured early years provision that develops children's skills.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent teaching practices related to curriculum delivery.
• Some topics lack clear guidance on knowledge, skills, and vocabulary.
• Recent changes in nursery staffing have affected established routines.
• High rates of persistent absence among pupils.

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 Parkside Community Primary School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.6% 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, 2.0% of pupils at Parkside Community 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 Parkside Community Primary School had 30.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 26.5% 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, 10.3% of pupils at Parkside Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.6% 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 Parkside Community Primary School received £9,443 and spent £10,018 for each of its 206 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £59,000 (£289 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 Borehamwood · Hertfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Parkside Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Parkside Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Parkside Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Parkside Community Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Parkside Community Primary School have?

Parkside Community Primary School has 213 pupils on roll.

What age range does Parkside Community Primary School cover?

Parkside Community Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 59% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Parkside Community Primary School?

Parkside Community Primary School is at Aycliffe Road, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, WD6 4EP.