Parkside School

Parkside School, a larger-than-average secondary in Wellspring Academy Trust, requires special measures after the July 2026 full inspection. Inspectors found it is not providing an acceptable standard of education and that leaders and governance are not demonstrating the capacity to secure necessary improvement. Safeguarding standards are met, and the school has some important strengths: high-needs and SEND pupils in the specially resourced and nurture provisions are generally supported well, the Phoenix alternative provision helps pupils re-engage, careers guidance is secure, and recent trust support is beginning to have a positive impact. The school has a specially resourced provision for 24 pupils with EHC plans, mostly with speech, language and communication needs and/or autism, and has had significant leadership changes. However, the overall picture is weak. Achievement is low and fell further in 2025, with disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND making particularly poor progress; too few pupils achieve well in English and mathematics by the end of Year 11. Attendance is low, has declined over three years, and persistent absence is too high. Behaviour is not consistently good, with corridor disruption, some discriminatory language and bullying concerns, and staff do not apply the behaviour policy consistently. Teaching and curriculum delivery are inconsistent, gaps in basic skills such as spelling, handwriting and arithmetic are not routinely addressed, and support for SEND pupils is not used consistently in classrooms. Personal development has a suitable programme but variable impact. Leaders have introduced changes such as the learning line and a new assessment approach, and some early improvements are visible, including reduced suspensions and better punctuality. But many strategies, especially for attendance, have not worked, staffing instability interrupts learning, and many parents lack faith in the school. The next steps require urgent improvement in attendance, behaviour, teaching, basic skills, curriculum design, personal development and SEND support, with governance ensuring rapid and secure improvement.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture and systems to keep pupils safe.
• Pupils with the highest levels of need are generally supported well pastorally.
• The specially resourced provision and nurture provision support pupils with SEND relatively well.
• Phoenix internal alternative provision helps pupils focus and improves their commitment over time.
• Some teaching is effective, with clear introductions to concepts and precise questioning.
• Leaders have introduced the learning line to improve lesson structure and consistency, with some positive impact.
• Careers guidance is secure and most pupils leave with firm plans for the future.
• Pupils access a reasonable range of music, arts, sport and enrichment opportunities.
• Staff appreciate the professional learning programme and recent trust support.
• The trust has ensured the school environment is attractive and welcoming.
• Leaders work well with parents and carers at transition, especially for SEND needs.
• Most pupils are respectful and friendly and typically behave well.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' achievement in national tests and GCSEs is low and declined further in 2025.
• Disadvantaged pupils' standards and progress have declined and remain too low.
• Too few pupils with SEND make suitable progress from their starting points.
• Too few pupils achieve well in English and mathematics by the end of Year 11.
• Attendance is low, has declined over three years, and persistent absence is too high.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND have particularly low attendance.
• Many attendance strategies have not been effective.
• Behaviour in corridors can be boisterous and poor behaviour disrupts too many lessons.
• Staff do not apply the behaviour policy consistently.
• Some pupils report discriminatory language and bullying concerns.
• Teaching quality is inconsistent and some lessons do not deliver the curriculum effectively.
• Gaps in pupils' spelling, handwriting, grammar and basic arithmetic are not routinely addressed.
• Subject curriculums, including mathematics, are not consistently well designed or sequenced.
• SEND information is not used consistently to adapt learning across classrooms.
• The personal development programme has variable impact, and some pupils do not recall RSE learning.
• Staffing instability and uncertainty interrupt the flow of learning.
• Many parents do not have faith in the school and would not recommend it.
• Leaders and governance have not demonstrated the capacity to secure necessary improvement.

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 School attended 87.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 32.4% 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, 17.9% of pupils at Parkside 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 Parkside School had 17.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.4% 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, 22.2% of pupils at Parkside School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

The school has resourced provision with 6 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 Parkside School received £8,490 and spent £9,523 for each of its 1,105 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £189,000 (£171 per pupil).

Across all 25 schools of Wellspring Academy Trust, income was £12,764 and spending £12,663 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.

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All schools in Bradford · Bradford local authority: places and applications

Parkside School is part of Wellspring Academy Trust, which runs 25 schools. The nearest others:

• Green Meadows Academy Leeds
• Bramley Park Academy Leeds
• Penny Field School Leeds
• Forest Moor School Harrogate
• Ebor Gardens Primary Academy Leeds
• Elements Primary School Leeds
• Springwell Leeds Academy Leeds
• Victoria Primary Academy Leeds
• Joseph Norton Academy Huddersfield
• The Forest School Knaresborough

What is Parkside School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Parkside School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Parkside School last inspected by Ofsted?

Parkside School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Parkside School have?

Parkside School has 1,061 pupils on roll.

What age range does Parkside School cover?

Parkside School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Parkside School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 36.4, and 22% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Parkside School?

Parkside School is at Parkside Terrace, Cullingworth, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD13 5AD.