West Park Academy

West Park Academy continues to perform well and is regarded as a good school. Pupils are happy and engaged, demonstrating strong achievement particularly in reading and phonics, and they benefit from a curriculum that is both ambitious and relevant. Parents express high levels of satisfaction, especially regarding the support provided for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school's approach to safeguarding is effective, contributing to a calm and positive learning environment. Overall, the strong leadership and positive community engagement underline the school's commitment to its pupils' development and well-being.

Strengths

• High expectations for all pupils.
• Strong performance in reading and phonics.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND.
• Engaging and relevant curriculum linked to local area.
• Positive pupil attitudes and behavior.
• Strong parental satisfaction and community support.
• Effective personal development curriculum.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent assessment in some foundation subjects.
• Lack of systematic approach to assessment in foundation subjects.

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 West Park Academy attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.0% 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, 0.2% of pupils at West Park Academy 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 West Park Academy had 23.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.8% 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, 14.9% of pupils at West Park Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.3% 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 2024–25 West Park Academy received £6,301 and spent £6,502 for each of its 446 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £346,000 (£775 per pupil).

Across all 24 schools of Lingfield Education Trust, income was £6,737 and spending £6,759 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Darlington · Darlington local authority: places and applications

West Park Academy is part of Lingfield Education Trust, which runs 26 schools. The nearest others:

• Mount Pleasant Primary School Darlington
• Corporation Road Community Primary School Darlington
• Northwood Primary School Darlington
• Heathfield Primary School Darlington
• Hurworth Primary School Darlington
• Woodham Burn Community Primary School and Nursery Newton Aycliffe
• Vane Road Primary School Newton Aycliffe
• Prince Bishops Community Primary School Bishop Auckland
• Durham Lane Primary School Stockton-On-Tees
• Preston Primary School Stockton-On-Tees

What is West Park Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for West Park Academy is Good, from an inspection in May 2024.

When was West Park Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

West Park Academy was last inspected in May 2024.

How many pupils does West Park Academy have?

West Park Academy has 464 pupils on roll.

What age range does West Park Academy cover?

West Park Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are West Park Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 67% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is West Park Academy?

West Park Academy is at Alderman Leach Drive, Darlington, County Durham, DL2 2GF.