Beckfoot Upper Heaton

Beckfoot Upper Heaton continues to perform well as a good school, maintaining a robust ethos centered around excellence, integrity, and kindness. The school's leaders have successfully cultivated an engaging learning environment, with pupils demonstrating respect for their peers and school environment. The implementation of the '5 habits of excellence' has fostered a culture of high expectations, and teachers are noted for their strong subject knowledge and effective use of assessment to enhance learning. However, leaders recognize the challenges surrounding pupil attendance, as irregular attendance continues to hinder some students' ability to fully benefit from the educational opportunities provided.

Strengths

• Strong ethos based on excellence, integrity, and kindness.
• Effective routines that support a calm learning environment after breaks.
• Ambitious and well-structured curriculum for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• High engagement in clubs and enrichment activities, particularly in sports and STEM.
• Carefully planned personal development program that meets pupil needs.

Areas for Improvement

• Irregular attendance impacting pupils' access to learning opportunities.
• Need for improved communication with parents regarding specific issues.

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 Upper Heaton attended 86.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 44.4% 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, 22.0% of pupils at Beckfoot Upper Heaton were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Upper Heaton had 15.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.6% 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, 32.0% of pupils at Beckfoot Upper Heaton were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 Upper Heaton received £9,199 and spent £8,867 for each of its 693 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,278,000 (£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 Bradford · Bradford local authority: places and applications

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

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

What is Beckfoot Upper Heaton's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Beckfoot Upper Heaton is Good, from an inspection in July 2023.

When was Beckfoot Upper Heaton last inspected by Ofsted?

Beckfoot Upper Heaton was last inspected in July 2023.

How many pupils does Beckfoot Upper Heaton have?

Beckfoot Upper Heaton has 679 pupils on roll.

What age range does Beckfoot Upper Heaton cover?

Beckfoot Upper Heaton for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Beckfoot Upper Heaton's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 36.4, and 33% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Beckfoot Upper Heaton?

Beckfoot Upper Heaton is at Thorn Lane, Heaton, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD9 6AL.