Parkside Primary Academy

Parkside Primary Academy continues to be recognized as a good school, demonstrating a strong commitment to providing a safe and inclusive environment for its pupils. The school effectively fosters a culture of high expectations, which translates into commendable achievements in areas such as reading and mathematics, demonstrating the staff's strong subject knowledge and effective teaching strategies. Furthermore, the school's proactive approach to safeguarding and the supportive involvement of governors and trust leaders contribute positively to the school's overall environment. However, the inspection did identify areas that require improvement, particularly in ensuring a consistent depth of knowledge across all subjects and enhancing the early years curriculum to better meet children's learning needs. While pupils generally perform well, there is a noted need for a clearer structure in subjects like history, as well as better retention of knowledge regarding different faiths in the religious education curriculum. Addressing these issues will help ensure that all pupils are well-prepared for their future education and citizenship responsibilities.

Strengths

• Pupils thrive in a friendly and inclusive environment.
• Strong emphasis on reading with effective teaching and support.
• Ambitious curriculum design leading to high achievement in mathematics.
• Proactive behavior management, resulting in rare instances of bullying.
• Effective safeguarding arrangements and support for pupils' wellbeing.
• Wide range of extracurricular clubs enhancing pupil development.

Areas for Improvement

• Insufficient clarity on specific knowledge to be learned in some subjects like history.
• Misalignment of certain early years activities with children's learning needs.
• Limited retention of knowledge about different faiths among some 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 Primary Academy attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.0% 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, 1.3% of pupils at Parkside Primary 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 Parkside Primary Academy had 19.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 20.0% of pupils at Parkside Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 8.4% 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 Parkside Primary Academy received £6,885 and spent £7,067 for each of its 229 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £212,000 (£928 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of Pioneer Academies Community Trust (Pact), income was £5,167 and spending £5,212 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 Barnsley · Barnsley local authority: places and applications

Parkside Primary Academy is part of Pioneer Academies Community Trust (Pact), which runs 4 schools. The nearest others:

• Summerfields Primary Academy Barnsley
• Carlton Primary Academy Barnsley
• Greenfield Primary School Barnsley

What is Parkside Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Parkside Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in April 2024.

When was Parkside Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Parkside Primary Academy was last inspected in April 2024.

How many pupils does Parkside Primary Academy have?

Parkside Primary Academy has 225 pupils on roll.

What age range does Parkside Primary Academy cover?

Parkside Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 72% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Parkside Primary Academy?

Parkside Primary Academy is at Midland Road, Royston, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S71 4QP.