Knowleswood Primary School

Knowleswood Primary School is an improving school that has benefited from joining Exceed Academies Trust, with notable strengths in early years, inclusion, personal development and safeguarding. Children in early years are well prepared for Year 1, leaders adapt the curriculum thoughtfully, and staff build positive relationships with families. The school's inclusive offer meets the needs of a pupil population with high levels of disadvantage and SEND, and pastoral support is a real strength. Pupils are safe, well cared for and behave well; they benefit from a wide range of personal development opportunities, and reading is taught effectively in the early stages. However, achievement is a significant concern. Published outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics have been below national averages over time, and too many pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, leave without the skills and knowledge needed for secondary school. Curriculum and teaching are inconsistent: in some lessons teachers check understanding well, but in others they do not, leaving gaps in pupils' learning. Attendance is also too low, with persistent absence well above national averages, especially for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. Leaders have appropriate plans to improve teaching, attendance and assessment, but it is too soon to see the impact, and monitoring and evaluation need further refinement. The school serves a community with well-above-average deprivation, a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals and a high proportion of pupils with SEND. A new headteacher started in April 2026, shortly before this full inspection. Leaders are committed and ambitious, trustees and governors provide effective challenge, and staff value the support they receive, but improving achievement and attendance remains the key priority.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture where pupils feel safe.
• Early years provision prepares children well for Year 1 and adapts the curriculum to meet children's needs.
• High-quality texts, stories, rhymes and modelling help children in early years develop language.
• The inclusive offer meets the needs of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND well.
• Leaders provide precise pastoral support and work effectively with social workers and other professionals.
• Personal development is a priority, with pupil leadership roles such as Powerful Girls and Happiness Heroes.
• The PSHE curriculum is well thought out and helps pupils stay safe, healthy and respectful.
• A wide range of extra opportunities, including sports events and residential trips, builds pupils' life skills and wider-world knowledge.
• Pastoral support is a real strength and removes barriers to learning and wellbeing.
• Behaviour has improved; pupils are polite, friendly and engage positively in lessons, and bullying is rare.
• Pupils learn to read with confidence, and most can read by the end of Year 1.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced, and leaders regularly check the quality of subject curriculums.
• Staff value the support from leaders and the trust, including professional learning and consideration of workload.
• Trustees and local governors understand their roles and hold leaders to account effectively.
• Leaders are committed, ambitious and have pupils' best interests at heart.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils have not attained well enough in national tests and examinations over time.
• Too many pupils leave school without the reading, writing and mathematics skills needed for secondary school.
• Disadvantaged pupils have gaps in knowledge and attain less well than other disadvantaged pupils nationally by the end of key stage 2.
• Pupil premium funding has not yet had a sufficiently positive impact on achievement and attendance.
• Attendance is too low, and persistent absence is significantly above national averages, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Curriculum and teaching are inconsistent across classes.
• Some teachers do not check pupils' understanding precisely, so pupils make mistakes or misunderstand new learning.
• Gaps remain in pupils' basic skills and in how consistently they present their learning verbally and in workbooks.
• Leaders' improvement plans are appropriate but it is too soon to see their impact on achievement and attendance.
• Monitoring and evaluation need further refinement to identify and address variation in practice quickly.
• Assessment within lessons needs strengthening to address gaps in pupils' foundational knowledge swiftly.
• Leaders should continue to evaluate personal development to ensure all pupils access rich wider opportunities.

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 Knowleswood Primary School attended 92.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 26.1% 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, 5.5% of pupils at Knowleswood Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). 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 Knowleswood Primary School had 17.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 27.3% 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, 21.2% of pupils at Knowleswood Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.1% 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 Knowleswood Primary School received £8,958 and spent £9,223 for each of its 400 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £62,000 (£156 per pupil).

Across all 12 schools of Exceed Academies Trust, income was £8,803 and spending £8,779 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

Knowleswood Primary School is part of Exceed Academies Trust, which runs 12 schools. The nearest others:

• Oastlers School Bradford
• Bowling Park Primary School Bradford
• Horton Park Primary School Bradford
• Copthorne Primary School Bradford
• Horton Grange Primary School Bradford
• Appleton Academy Bradford
• Cavendish Primary School Bradford
• Holybrook Primary School Bradford
• Baildon Glen Primary School Shipley
• Cottingley Village Primary School Bingley

What is Knowleswood Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Knowleswood Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Knowleswood Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Knowleswood Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Knowleswood Primary School have?

Knowleswood Primary School has 363 pupils on roll.

What age range does Knowleswood Primary School cover?

Knowleswood Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Knowleswood Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 20% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Knowleswood Primary School?

Knowleswood Primary School is at Knowles Lane, Bradford, BD4 9AE.