Park House Primary School Review 2026: Sport-heavy clubs, strong KS2 outcomes, village primary in Lower Pilsley

Park House Primary School is a small Derbyshire village primary with a clear emphasis on calm routines, high expectations, and practical support for families. The school day is tightly structured (8:50am start, 3:30pm finish for most year groups), and wraparound care runs from 7:30am through to 5:30pm, which matters for working households.

Academically, the school’s most recent Key Stage 2 picture is strong in core outcomes, with a particular tilt towards reading and maths. A large sports menu after school, plus school-led online safety work through iVengers, gives pupils lots of ways to plug in beyond lessons.

A simple set of expectations anchors daily life, “Be Ready, Be Respectful, Be Safe”, and it shows up in the practical choices the school makes, from punctual routines to explicit behaviour guidance.

Leadership is stable. Stephanie Kavanagh is the head teacher, appointed in September 2019, and also serves as the Designated Safeguarding Lead, SENDCo, and Early Years lead, which tells you a lot about where the attention goes.

The 2023 inspection describes pupils as happy, feeling safe, and behaving well in lessons and during assembly, with leaders holding consistently high expectations. This combination, steady routines plus warm adult support, tends to suit pupils who do best in orderly, predictable settings.

There is also a purposeful “small school” community feel in how pastoral support is organised. The school’s Pastoral and Inclusion Manager works alongside SEND leadership and outside agencies, and the site describes practical help that includes guidance for families and referrals for wider support where needed.

For a primary, the headline is Key Stage 2 reading, writing and maths combined.

• 74% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with an England average of 62%.

• At the higher standard, 15.33% achieved the higher standard in reading, writing and maths, compared with an England average of 8%.

Scaled scores sit at 106 for reading, 107 for maths, and 109 for grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS). In science, 75% reached the expected standard. (England average: 82%.)

In England terms, the school is above average overall. Ranked 3,024th in England and 9th in Chesterfield for primary outcomes, it sits comfortably within the top quarter of primary schools in England (FindMySchool ranking based on official data). Parents comparing nearby options can use the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool to put these figures alongside other local primaries.

Reading is the clearest whole-school academic priority. The inspection describes a well-structured early reading programme, consistent staff training, and closely matched reading books, plus daily story time delivered in an engaging style. The implication for parents is straightforward: pupils who need systematic decoding support are less likely to slip through gaps, because adults track progress and intervene quickly when children fall behind.

Maths teaching is also described with concrete classroom routines. Teachers use “flash-back” activities to revisit prior learning and check recall, then adapt their programme where gaps appear. This is the kind of approach that often works well for pupils who benefit from frequent retrieval practice and clear lesson structure.

Beyond English and maths, leaders have built a foundation-subject curriculum that emphasises continuity from early years to Year 6, including local history and heritage. The inspection gives specific examples, including visits to Creswell Crags for Stone Age learning and study of George Stephenson and the railways in the Victorian era. The developmental point is that pupils are being taught to connect classroom content to place and community, not just to “cover” topics.

The key caveat is that curriculum development is still underway in a small number of foundation subjects. The inspection notes that in some areas leaders were still refining the precise knowledge pupils should learn and revisit, and recall was not yet as consistently strong as in the core.

The curriculum is designed with secondary readiness in mind, and the most recent inspection explicitly frames intent around pupils being well prepared for secondary education.

For families, the practical reality is that destinations depend on Derbyshire’s coordinated admissions and the secondary options available in your part of Chesterfield and North East Derbyshire. What Park House can control is the transition groundwork: strong reading fluency, confident numeracy, and pupils who can manage routines, organisation, and independent learning, all of which are referenced in the inspection’s description of classroom culture.

Park House follows the Local Authority admissions process.

The latest published Reception admissions demand data indicates 63 applications for 27 offers, which is 2.33 applications per place, so competition is real. If you are aiming for Reception entry, it is worth treating this as an oversubscribed school and planning accordingly.

For September 2026 entry in Derbyshire, the county timetable is clear:

• Applications open Monday 10 November 2025

• Closing date midnight Thursday 15 January 2026

• Offers released Thursday 16 April 2026

Because distance cut-offs vary annually and the last offered distance is not published here, families should use the FindMySchoolMap Search to sanity-check practical travel options and shortlist realistic alternatives before the deadline.

Pastoral support is framed as both emotional and practical. The school’s Pastoral and Inclusion Manager is described as working closely with SEND leadership and external agencies, and the list of support areas includes bereavement, worries and anxiety, and signposting or referrals for wider family help.

Wellbeing work is also branded and structured. The school describes involvement in the SMILERS project with Derbyshire County Council, built around the NHS 5 Ways to Wellbeing, and using trained pupil “ambassadors”. The point is not the acronym itself, it is that pupils are being taught a shared vocabulary for self-care and emotional regulation, which can reduce low-level anxiety and improve peer support in day-to-day situations.

Safeguarding is treated as systematic. The latest inspection confirms safeguarding arrangements are effective, including thorough staff checks, staff training, and clear recording and follow-up when concerns arise.

Sport is a major pillar, and it is unusually specific for a village primary. Clubs run after school, shifting half-termly, and the list includes football, fencing, athletics, street dance, cricket, acro, boxercise, tag rugby, mini trampolining, orienteering, dodgeball, and netball. The structure matters: clubs are time-bounded by half term, places are limited, and the school uses qualified sports coaches for sporting clubs.

There is also a practical family angle. A modest per-session cost is published for these clubs, which helps keep provision predictable, but can add up if a child attends multiple clubs across a week.

Online safety is another distinctive feature. iVengers is a pupil group (8 children from Key Stage 2) tasked with “missions” that help pupils and parents build safer online habits. This is the kind of peer-led approach that can land better than adult warnings, particularly for older juniors who are starting to use more apps and online games independently.

Finally, the school’s published facilities and spaces support a hands-on feel. The school brochure describes a computer suite, a children’s baking kitchen, a library situated off the main corridor, a developing wildlife garden, a Multi Use Games Area (MUGA), and small-group teaching spaces called The Learning Zone.

The school day runs:

• Morning session 8:50am to 12:00pm

• Afternoon session 1:05pm to 3:30pm (Reception finishes at 3:25pm)

Gates open from 8:40am and parents wait in designated areas at pick-up.

Wraparound care is well-defined:

• Breakfast club registration begins at 7:30am, with breakfast included, priced at £5 per session.

• After-school club runs 3:30pm to 5:30pm, priced at £5 per hour, with a light snack and structured activities (arts and crafts, baking, puzzles and games), plus space for homework.

A practical safety detail: the school brochure describes a school crossing patrol and requests children use that facility for crossing Rupert Street, and it also specifies the gate used for drop-off and collection.

• Oversubscription is a real constraint. Recent data shows 63 applications for 27 offers. If you are relying on Reception entry, have a realistic Plan B and submit on time.

• Core is stronger than some foundation areas. Reading and maths are described as particularly strong, but curriculum planning and recall in a small number of foundation subjects was still being refined at the most recent inspection.

• Extras can carry ongoing costs. After-school clubs have a published per-session charge, and wraparound care is paid. For some families this is a worthwhile trade for convenient childcare, but it is best budgeted early.

• Playtime sport can run hot. The inspection notes that competitive sport at breaktimes can sometimes spill into misbehaviour, with governors agreeing an approach to anti-bullying and emotional management. For most pupils this is manageable, but children who dislike competitive play may need encouragement towards calmer options.

Park House Primary School suits families who want a structured, community-rooted primary with strong Key Stage 2 outcomes and a genuinely busy extracurricular offer, especially in sport. Pupils who respond well to clear routines, frequent practice in maths, and systematic reading teaching are likely to do well here.

Who it suits: local families seeking a calm, organised school day with wraparound care, plus a confident sports and wellbeing programme. The main challenge is admission, because demand exceeds places.