Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School

Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School is a larger-than-average primary school in an area with above-average deprivation. This full inspection found that safeguarding standards are met and that pupils feel safe, but all other evaluated areas—achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing—were graded as needing attention. Published attainment in reading, writing and mathematics has been below national averages for several years, and many pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, are not well prepared for their next steps. Learning experiences are uneven, some pupils lack secure foundations in key skills, persistent absence remains high, and behaviour systems are not consistently applied. There are clear signs of improvement. The school has been through considerable leadership and governance change, with an acting headteacher and acting deputy headteacher appointed from May 2026 and several new governors since June 2025. Leaders have an accurate view of the school's strengths and weaknesses and are taking appropriate action with local authority and external support. Reading and phonics expertise is improving, attendance actions are beginning to have an impact, suspensions are reducing, and wellbeing support is increasingly effective. Pupils are welcomed, settle quickly, feel safe, and bullying and discriminatory incidents are dealt with effectively. Parents are typically positive, and staff are positive about the changes being made. However, much of the improvement work is at an early stage. The curriculum is ambitious on paper but taught inconsistently, and support for pupils with SEND and those with English as an additional language is variable. Early years teaching quality is uneven, and some children are not ready for Year 1. Inclusion processes are not consistent, SEND plans lack specificity, and the pupil premium strategy is not applied consistently well. Governance is improving but needs to strengthen its ability to hold leaders to account. Overall, the school requires attention, with next steps focused on raising aspirations, securing foundational knowledge, improving attendance and behaviour consistency, and ensuring the curriculum and personal development programme are taught well for all pupils.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.
• Pupils feel safe and trust caring staff to listen to their worries.
• Bullying and discriminatory incidents are dealt with effectively and are reducing.
• Pupils who join at different times, including those who speak English as an additional language, settle quickly.
• Leaders have an accurate view of the school's strengths and weaknesses and are taking appropriate action.
• Leaders have kept pupils' best interests at the forefront during a period of significant change.
• Staff are positive about the changes, and leaders have supported staff wellbeing and sought to minimise workload.
• Parents are typically positive about the school.
• Professional learning is improving staff subject knowledge, with evident improved expertise in reading and phonics.
• The curriculum is broad and designed to help pupils build knowledge logically over time.
• Actions to reduce absence are beginning to have a positive impact, with an expanded attendance team.
• High expectations of pupils' behaviour are in place, and suitable support is beginning to reduce suspensions.
• The personal development curriculum covers online safety, healthy relationships and managing emotions and reflects the local context.
• Pupils learn about cultural diversity, respect and kindness, and say everyone is welcomed.
• Support for pupils' social and emotional wellbeing is beginning to make a positive difference.
• Leaders have broadened extra-curricular activities and begun removing barriers to participation, such as offering before-school clubs.
• Pupils enjoy trips, responsibilities such as playground buddies and monitors, and clubs including eco-warriors.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' attainment in reading, writing and mathematics has been consistently below national averages over time.
• Many pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, are not well prepared for their next steps in learning.
• Pupils' progress through the curriculum is hampered by uneven learning experiences over time.
• Some pupils, including those with SEND, do not achieve all that they should.
• Some pupils have not secured basic knowledge in reading, handwriting, spelling, grammar and mathematics.
• Some groups of pupils do not attend school often enough, and persistent absence remains stubbornly high.
• Agreed behaviour systems are not consistently understood and applied by staff.
• Behaviour incidents are not always dealt with swiftly enough, particularly at breaktimes and lunchtimes.
• Some pupils disengage and show less positive attitudes when learning is not well matched to their needs.
• Curriculum implementation and teaching vary across the school, and improvement work is at an early stage.
• Extra help for pupils who struggle with key skills is sometimes not matched well enough to their individual gaps.
• Some staff are not confident in adapting teaching to meet the needs of pupils with SEND effectively.
• Early years teaching is variable, impeding children's progress from their starting points.
• Some children are not as ready for Year 1 as they should be.
• Some children with SEND in early years do not receive the support they need to flourish.
• The school does not have a consistent approach to identifying and assessing pupils' individual needs, including SEND.
• Plans for pupils with SEND lack clear, specific actions, and support is inconsistent.
• Support for pupils with English as an additional language is variable.
• The pupil premium strategy is not applied consistently well.
• Leaders have not been wholly successful in ensuring pupils achieve and behave as well as they should.
• Some improvement changes have not led to improvement quickly enough.
• The personal development programme is not taught consistently well, and some pupils, including those with SEND, do not benefit as they should.
• Pupils do not have a secure understanding of fundamental British values.
• Participation in extra-curricular activities, including by disadvantaged pupils, is at an early stage.
• Governance is beginning to improve oversight but needs to enhance knowledge and expertise to hold leaders to account.

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 Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School attended 94.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.8% 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, 3.8% of pupils at Accrington Hyndburn Park 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 Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School had 22.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.3% 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, 9.2% of pupils at Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% 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 Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School received £7,064 and spent £7,307 for each of its 422 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £192,000 (£455 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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All schools in Accrington · Lancashire local authority: places and applications

What is Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School have?

Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School has 434 pupils on roll.

What age range does Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School cover?

Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 42% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School?

Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School is at Park Road, Accrington, Lancashire, BB5 1ST.