Parkside Community School

Parkside Community School is a caring and improving school that is meeting expected standards in most areas. Safeguarding is effective, pupils feel safe and well supported, and the school has a positive learning community. Behaviour is good, bullying is rare, suspensions have fallen dramatically, and attendance has improved markedly with persistent absence reduced remarkably. The school has been through significant change since joining Embark Multi Academy Trust and appointing a new headteacher and leadership team, and leadership and governance are now effective, with strong support and challenge from trustees and governors. Inclusion and personal development are particular strengths. Pupils with SEND are identified early and supported well, including before they join Year 7, and disadvantaged pupils achieve in line with national averages. Pastoral care is highly effective, pupils learn how to stay safe and healthy, and they are well prepared for life in modern Britain. Careers education is strong, with pupils engaging with universities and employers, and nearly all make positive next steps into education, employment or training. Achievement is the area needing attention. Although teaching has improved and pupils generally work hard, overall outcomes in national tests are not consistently close to national averages, and some subjects remain below. In some lessons, activities are not challenging enough for pupils who are ready for deeper work, and staff do not always notice when pupils forget or misunderstand key knowledge. Handwriting support is at an early stage and some pupils still struggle to write clearly. Leaders' next steps rightly focus on matching learning activities more precisely to pupils' needs and continuing to develop handwriting support.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and pupils feeling safe.
• Behaviour is positive, bullying is rare, and suspensions have reduced dramatically.
• Attendance has improved markedly and persistent absence has reduced remarkably.
• The curriculum is well designed and logically sequenced.
• Teaching quality has improved, with staff demonstrating strong subject knowledge.
• Staff adapt learning well for pupils with SEND, supported by well-trained additional adults.
• SEND identification and support are well established and begin before Year 7.
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve in line with national averages and are well supported.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with strong support and challenge from trustees and governors.
• Staff are highly positive about leadership, professional development and workload support.
• Personal development prepares pupils well for life, health, relationships and democracy.
• Pastoral care is highly effective, with strong partnerships with external agencies.
• Careers education is strong and nearly all pupils make positive next steps.
• Pupils feel safe, cared for and well known by staff.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement needs attention because overall outcomes in national tests are not consistently close to national averages.
• Some subjects' national test results remain below national averages.
• Learning activities are sometimes not challenging enough for pupils who are ready for deeper work.
• Staff do not always notice when pupils forget or misunderstand key knowledge.
• Handwriting support is at an early stage and some pupils still struggle to write clearly.
• Recent teaching improvements are not yet consistently reflected in pupils' achievement.

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 Community School attended 90.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 28.4% 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, 11.9% of pupils at Parkside Community School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 5 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 Community School had 16.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.2% 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, 20.6% of pupils at Parkside Community School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.6% 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 Parkside Community School received £10,293 and spent £8,775 for each of its 574 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £378,000 (£659 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Embark Multi Academy Trust, income was £8,703 and spending £7,965 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 Chesterfield · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

Parkside Community School is part of Embark Multi Academy Trust, which runs 29 schools. The nearest others:

• William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School Chesterfield
• Heath Primary School Chesterfield
• The Brigg Infant School Alfreton
• Glebe Junior School Alfreton
• Riddings Junior School Alfreton
• Anthony Gell School Matlock
• Ripley Junior School Ripley
• Waingroves Primary School Ripley
• Aldercar Infant School Nottingham
• Aldercar High School Nottingham

What is Parkside Community School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Parkside Community School is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Parkside Community School last inspected by Ofsted?

Parkside Community School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Parkside Community School have?

Parkside Community School has 587 pupils on roll.

What age range does Parkside Community School cover?

Parkside Community School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Parkside Community School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 36.4, and 19% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Parkside Community School?

Parkside Community School is at Boythorpe Avenue, Boythorpe, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 2NS.