Picklenash Junior School

About Picklenash Junior School

Picklenash Junior School is a state primary for mixed pupils aged 7 to 11 in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. It currently has 161 pupils against a capacity of 240, meaning the school is operating at around two-thirds full. This spare capacity is notable in a local authority where demand can be high, and it suggests that securing a place here is less competitive than at some neighbouring schools. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 28 per cent, which is significantly above the national average and indicates a catchment with above-average levels of disadvantage. The school has no religious character and is led by headteacher Michelle Kelly. Its most recent Ofsted inspection, in February 2025, judged the school as Requires Improvement across all graded areas, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. This was a downgrade from its previous Good rating, and the report noted that the school was not judged on overall effectiveness at the most recent visit.

Academically, the school’s Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 place it well below local and national benchmarks. Only 39 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with the Gloucestershire local authority average of 59 per cent. This puts Picklenash 35th out of 39 primary schools in the Forest of Dean and in the bottom 50 per cent nationally. In individual subjects, 55 per cent met the expected standard in reading, 43 per cent in maths, and 61 per cent in writing. The proportion achieving the higher standard in all three subjects was just 8 per cent. Average scores were 100 in reading and 99 in maths, both slightly below the national average. The school’s ranking score of 39 places it in the bottom tier of schools in the South West region. There is no progress score data available for reading, writing or maths, so it is not possible to assess how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points.

The school offers a range of facilities including a sports hall, outdoor playground, playing fields, sensory room and music rooms. Sports on offer include swimming, rounders, dance, cricket and gymnastics, while clubs include chess, choir, gardening, eco club and film club. SEND provisions cover specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Parent View responses, based on 29 respondents, show a mixed picture: 55 per cent would recommend the school, but 45 per cent would not. While 65 per cent agreed their child is happy, 31 per cent disagreed. On safety, 59 per cent agreed their child feels safe, but 42 per cent disagreed. The school is best suited to families who live locally and are comfortable with a school that is in a period of transition following its recent Ofsted downgrade, and who value the availability of specialist SEND support and a wide range of extracurricular activities.

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