Beckfoot School

Beckfoot School is a highly effective, inclusive secondary academy where pupils feel safe and belong, and where leaders’ mission that no child is left behind is realised. Inspectors found exceptionally strong provision across the curriculum, behaviour, personal development, leadership and sixth form. Pupils make excellent progress, achieve highly at key stages 4 and 5, behave impeccably, and benefit from an ambitious curriculum, expert teaching, strong reading support and tailored SEND provision, including a specially resourced provision for pupils with physical disabilities. Pupils’ wider development is a major strength: extensive extracurricular opportunities, pupil leadership, careers advice, community engagement and sixth-form mentoring. Staff are proud to work at the school and report high wellbeing; governors and trustees know the school well and provide rigorous support and challenge. Safeguarding is effective. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection as an academy, although it was previously judged outstanding before academy conversion. Under the current framework no overall effectiveness grade is awarded; all key judgements, including sixth-form provision, were outstanding and no areas for improvement were identified.

Strengths

• Caring and inclusive culture where pupils feel safe and belong
• High expectations and ambition for all pupils
• Ambitious curriculum that builds strong knowledge and skills
• Expert teaching with effective checking and adaptation
• Excellent pupil progress and high achievement at key stages 4 and 5
• Impeccable pupil behaviour and strong relationships
• Extensive personal development, careers and extracurricular programme
• Strong pupil leadership and community contribution
• Effective reading support and a positive reading culture
• Strong SEND identification and support, including nurture and specialist provision
• Excellent sixth-form teaching, leadership and role modelling
• Highly effective leaders, positive staff wellbeing and rigorous governance
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

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 Beckfoot School attended 92.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 17.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 1.2% of pupils at Beckfoot School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 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 Beckfoot School had 17.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 3.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 23.2% of pupils at Beckfoot School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 3 pupils.

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Beckfoot School received £8,478 and spent £8,179 for each of its 1,607 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,962,000 (£1,843 per pupil).

Across all 10 schools of Beckfoot Trust, income was £8,890 and spending £8,737 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 Bingley · Bradford local authority: places and applications

Beckfoot School is part of Beckfoot Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Hazelbeck Special School Bingley
• Beckfoot Priestthorpe Primary School & Nursery Bingley
• Beckfoot Upper Heaton Bradford
• Beckfoot Heaton Primary Bradford
• Beckfoot Allerton Primary School and Nursery Bradford
• Beckfoot Thornton Bradford
• Beckfoot Oakbank Keighley
• Beckfoot Nessfield Keighley
• Beckfoot Phoenix Keighley

What is Beckfoot School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Beckfoot School is Outstanding, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Beckfoot School last inspected by Ofsted?

Beckfoot School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Beckfoot School have?

Beckfoot School has 1,592 pupils on roll.

What age range does Beckfoot School cover?

Beckfoot School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Beckfoot School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 51.5, and 58% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Beckfoot School?

Beckfoot School is at Wagon Lane, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1EE.