School Chooser

Alfreton Park Community Special School

Special · ages 2-19MixedCouncil167 pupilsSixth formNurseryAlfretonDerbyshire
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedAs expected teachingOfsted report card, April 2026
Reached the expected level at 110%England 63%
Attendance90.8%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families56%Far more than most schools
Places3 spare167 pupils, 170 places
Pupils per teacher7.2School workforce census

Alfreton Park Community Special School is a council special school in Alfreton for boys and girls aged 2 to 19. It has 167 pupils and room for 170. About 56 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted visited in April 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.

Alfreton Park, Wingfield Road, Alfreton, DE55 7AL01773 483330Ms Josie O' Donnell headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted visited on 14 April 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.

TeachingOfsted calls this “curriculum and teaching”
As expected
Achievement
As expected
Behaviour and attendanceOfsted calls this “attendance and behaviour”
As expected
Support for every childOfsted calls this “inclusion”
Strong
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development and wellbeing”
Strong
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and governance”
As expected
Early years
Strong
Sixth formOfsted calls this “post-16”
As expected
SafeguardingAre pupils kept safe?
Pupils are kept safe
Met
Ofsted's scale:ExceptionalStrong standardExpected standardNeeds attentionUrgent improvement

Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.

Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
5 May 2022UngradedSchool remains Good

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

5 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

The government hasn't published this school's headline results. Fewer than eleven pupils sat the exams, so the figures could identify individual children.

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

9 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 110%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level0%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading scoreOfficial name: Reading average scaled score
Maths scoreOfficial name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 0%0%20172019: 0%0%20192023: 0%0%20232024: 0%0%20242025: 0%0%2025
Since 2017: +0%
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017DerbyshireEngland
Pupils tested9797415
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%0%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths0%0%0%0%0%8%8%
Expected level: readingReading expected standard0%0%0%0%0%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard0%0%0%0%0%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)0%0%0%0%0%
Reading progressReading progress score-5.2-3.4
Maths progressMaths progress score-5.5-3.1

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Derbyshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll167Census January 2026
Places17098% full
Pupils from low-income families55%56% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English4%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%167 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)53%£95,200 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls120 / 47
White British pupils90%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with severe learning difficulties.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Derbyshire with severe learning difficulties provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (93), Severe learning difficulty (36), Specific learning difficulty (11), language and communications needs (10), Other difficulty or disability (8), Moderate learning difficulty (4).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll16713512912310993
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals55%55%54%52%51%55%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language4%3%3%2%2%1%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%0%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%100%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 90.8% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance90.8%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school35.9%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence9.2%10.8%12.0%11.6%20.7%12.3%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence8.4%10.3%11.1%11.0%18.5%11.7%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.7%0.5%0.9%0.7%2.2%0.6%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence35.9%31.4%36.2%37.7%67.6%31.8%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.01.63.32.80.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00200

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 16 pupils who left in 2021/22 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training94%and stayed there for at least six months
Earlier years
Destination2021/22 leavers2020/21 leavers
Still in education, work or training94%100%
Education94%100%
Apprenticeship0%0%
Work0%0%
Not in education, work or training6%0%

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers23.2full-time equivalent, 24 people
Pupils per teacher7.2Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants64.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£52,538
Teachers who left in the year28%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher5.32024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£30,645England £32,258. Total £4.1m
Income per pupil£31,420England £32,367. Total £4.2m
Spent on teachers per pupil£9,376England £11,930
Money in reserve13%A healthy amount put by: £544k, £4,031 per pupil. England 7%
Money in against money out+£105kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£30,645spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m15712 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate126 per 1,000 people38% higher than the England average
Typical house price£235,000Amber Valley
Nearest bus stop300 mWatchorn, 8 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Kingdom Christian SchoolIndependent360 m40Not inspectedCompare
Alfreton Nursery SchoolLocal authority nursery school550 m74Outstanding 2024Compare
Croft Infant SchoolCouncil590 m166Good 202033Compare
Woodbridge Junior SchoolCouncil710 m226Report card 20266Compare
David Nieper AcademyAcademy820 m810Good 202223Compare
Copthorne Community Infant SchoolCouncil0.6 miles96Report card 20260Compare
Christ the King Catholic Voluntary AcademyAcademy0.7 miles225Good 202286Compare
Leys Junior SchoolCouncil1.0 miles160Good 202347Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Alfreton Park Community Special School a good school?

Alfreton Park Community Special School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted's report card from April 2026 rated its teaching as as expected.

What is Alfreton Park Community Special School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 14 April 2026 it rated teaching as as expected, achievement as as expected, behaviour and attendance as as expected, leadership as as expected.

How good are Alfreton Park Community Special School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 0% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 0% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Alfreton Park Community Special School have?

167 pupils aged 2 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 170 places, so it is 98% full.

What is attendance like at Alfreton Park Community Special School?

Pupils were in school 90.8% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 36% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Alfreton Park Community Special School have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

Does Alfreton Park Community Special School have a sixth form?

Yes.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Alfreton Park, Wingfield Road, Alfreton, DE55 7AL
Telephone
01773 483330
Headteacher
Ms Josie O' Donnell
Type of school
Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 2-19, with nursery, with sixth form
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Derbyshire
Ward
Alfreton
Constituency
Amber Valley
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
113040 · LAESTAB 8307018 · UKPRN 10015683

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from