Park Community School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 23 June 2026

Park Community School lives up to its motto of being much more than just a school. Pupils enjoy extensive opportunities to find what they love. Enrichment activities, including learning to cook or caring for farm animals, form an integral part of every pupil’s curriculum offer. Many pupils gain valuable employment experience by running school clubs during the summer or by helping to maintain the school site. These experiences enable them to develop important life skills that prepare them well for future employment. The school’s excellent personal development provision raises pupils’ aspirations and helps them understand their potential with increasing confidence. Pupils with barriers to learning, for example special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive effective support. Skilled adults create a culture in which pupils believe they can succeed. Teachers understand how to make learning accessible for those with additional needs. In some lessons, however, work does not provide enough challenge to ensure that pupils apply their learning in more complex and demanding ways. Published examination performance data does not fully reflect pupils’ achievements. Alongside academic pathways, the school enables a high proportion of pupils to achieve well in vocational qualifications such as construction, hair and beauty and horticulture. Increasing numbers of pupils now achieve essential qualifications in English and mathematics. Despite this improvement, too few pupils currently reach the expected standard. Typically, pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. As they grow older, they learn to conduct themselves with mature confidence. Most staff insist that pupils meet high expectations for effort and conduct consistently. Pupils report that bullying is rare because adults help them resolve disagreements successfully. Attendance remains low overall, but continues to improve, particularly for pupils with additional vulnerability.

What the school should improve

• Leaders must continue to implement their attendance strategy so that attendance improves and persistent absence reduces, especially for disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Leaders should ensure that teachers consistently adapt learning activities to match pupils’ needs, so pupils can apply knowledge and write about their learning in more detailed ways.
• Leaders should continue to ensure that pupils achieve well in the qualifications they study, including increasing the number who reach expected standards in English and mathematics.
• Leaders should refine how precisely they check the quality of the school’s work so they can judge the impact of their actions with confidence and secure sustained improvement.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)