The Park Junior School

About The Park Junior School

The Park Junior School in Bolsover received a Requires Improvement rating from Ofsted in its most recent graded inspection in June 2024, a downgrade from its previous Good rating in 2018. The inspection report noted that while personal development remains Good, the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, and leadership and management all require improvement. On academic outcomes, the school’s Key Stage 2 data for 2023/24 shows that 52% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That figure sits below the Derbyshire local authority average of 59%. The school ranks 14th out of 22 primary schools in the Bolsover area on this measure, placing it in the bottom half nationally. Just 2% of pupils reached the higher standard across all three subjects, and individual subject scores for reading and maths both averaged 101, which is in line with the national average of 100.

Looking more closely at the subject-level results, 60% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, 63% in maths, and 77% in writing. The writing figure is notably stronger than the other two subjects, though only 10% of pupils achieved the higher standard in writing. Reading and maths both saw 15% and 13% of pupils respectively reaching the higher standard. The school has no progress scores published for reading, writing or maths, so it is not possible to compare how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. With 35.4% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a community with above-average disadvantage. The school is at full capacity with 257 pupils on roll, matching its stated capacity exactly, which suggests it is popular locally despite the current Ofsted rating.

The school offers a range of facilities including a library, forest school, sports hall, ICT suite, outdoor playground, playing fields and a chapel. Sports on offer include dance, football, cricket, netball and swimming, while clubs include eco club, coding, film club and book club. The school has identified SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. The nearest outstanding-rated primary school is St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, just 0.8 km away, which may be a consideration for families prioritising a higher Ofsted grade. The Park Junior School is a mixed, non-religious state primary for ages 7 to 11, with no nursery or sixth form provision. It may suit families who value its full capacity and broad extracurricular offer, but who are comfortable with a school that is currently working through an improvement plan following its recent inspection.

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