Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College
Wealstone Lane, Upton, Chester, CH2 1HD
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 4 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Adam
- SEN provision
- VI - Visual Impairment, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Chester North and Neston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Pupils on roll
- 170
- URN
- 111511
- Local authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01244470134
About this school
Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College is a community special school in Chester. It teaches children aged 4 to 19 and has 170 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 3 July 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 15 | 12 | 7 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -6.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -6.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -6.00 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 13 | 19 | 15 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Cheshire West and Chester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 0% | 57.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 57.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 59.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 142 |
| 2023/24 | 147 |
| 2024/25 | 157 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 36.62%
- English as an additional language
- 6.4%
- Overall absence
- 8.98%
- Persistent absence
- 26.32%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Firs School0.5 miles
Independent schools
-
Ancora House School0.6 miles
Local authority maintained schools · Chester
-
University of Chester1.1 miles
Universities · Chester
-
The Hammond1.3 miles
Independent schools · Chester
-
Maple Grove School1.3 miles
Special schools
Other schools in Chester
- Ancora House School Local authority maintained schools
- Dee Banks School Special schools
- iMap Centre Special schools
- Acresfield Academy Primary
- Ashton Hayes Primary School Primary
- Barrow CofE Primary School Primary
- Barrow CofE Primary School Primary
- Belgrave Primary School Primary
- Boughton Heath Academy Primary
- Capenhurst CofE Primary School Primary
- Cherry Grove Primary School Primary
- Chester Blue Coat Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College teach?
- Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College teaches children aged 4 to 19. It is a special school in Chester.
- Who is the headteacher of Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College?
- The headteacher of Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College is Mrs Sarah Adam, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College?
- Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College has 170 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 19.
- Is Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College a faith school?
- No. Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College have?
- The schools register lists Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College's special educational needs provision as: VI - Visual Impairment; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College's absence rate?
- Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College's overall absence rate is 9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Dorin Park School & Specialist SEN College's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.