Drighlington Primary School

Drighlington Primary School is currently rated as requiring improvement overall, reflecting challenges particularly in the quality of education and leadership. Although the school has several commendable aspects, including the behavior and attitudes of its pupils, there are significant gaps in curriculum delivery, especially in subjects outside of reading and mathematics, which have historically affected learning outcomes for some pupils. The school is undergoing leadership changes and is working closely with the local authority to strengthen its educational provision and enhance pupil achievement.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate confidence and happiness at school.
• Staff are dedicated and caring, fostering a positive learning environment.
• There has been a reduction in incidents of misbehavior.
• The school has developed a strong phonics and reading curriculum.
• Pupils appreciate a wide range of enrichment activities and clubs.

Areas for Improvement

• Historic weaknesses in the curriculum lead to gaps in learning for some pupils.
• The planning and sequencing in subjects other than reading and mathematics are less effective.
• Some pupils do not always feel safe due to challenging behaviors of a few individuals.

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 Drighlington Primary School attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.5% 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, 2.2% of pupils at Drighlington 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 Drighlington Primary School had 22.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.1% 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, 29.0% of pupils at Drighlington Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.3% 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 Drighlington Primary School received £6,557 and spent £7,339 for each of its 391 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £579,000 (-£1,480 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 Bradford · Leeds local authority: places and applications

What is Drighlington Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Drighlington Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in July 2024.

When was Drighlington Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Drighlington Primary School was last inspected in July 2024.

How many pupils does Drighlington Primary School have?

Drighlington Primary School has 396 pupils on roll.

What age range does Drighlington Primary School cover?

Drighlington Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Drighlington Primary School?

Drighlington Primary School is at Moorland Road, Drighlington, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD11 1JY.