Parkwood Academy
Melbourne Avenue, Chelmsford, CM1 2DX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SOUTH ESSEX ACADEMY TRUST
- Head of School
- Mrs Lisa Cracknell
- Religious ethos
- None
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- South Essex Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Chelmsford
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 196
- URN
- 141355
- Local authority
- Essex
- Telephone
- 01245354605
About this school
Parkwood Academy is a primary academy in Chelmsford. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 196 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Parkwood Academy, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Early years
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 31 | 30 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 52% | 37% | 66% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 10% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 74% | 63% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 87% | 63% | 69% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 81% | 70% | 72% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 102.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -1.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.10 | - | - |
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.
Trends over time
How Parkwood Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Essex average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 52% | 58.9% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 37% | 59.5% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 66% | 60.7% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 229 |
| 2023/24 | 224 |
| 2024/25 | 210 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Parkwood Academy compares
Parkwood Academy ranked 196th of 388 primary schools in Essex for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66% | 5.4% | 40.3% | 196 | — |
| St Pius X Catholic Primary School | 73% | 4.6% | 22.9% | 215 | 0.3 miles |
| Kings Road Primary School | 58% | 6.7% | 40.7% | 403 | 0.4 miles |
| Newlands Spring Primary and Nursery School | 60% | 5.5% | 12.5% | 479 | 0.5 miles |
| Lawford Mead Primary & Nursery | 61% | 8.4% | 42.3% | 413 | 0.6 miles |
| Maltese Road Primary School | 74% | 5.2% | 10.9% | 211 | 0.7 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
- 9 July 2024
-
Ungraded inspection report7 December 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 40.31%
- English as an additional language
- 26.7%
- Overall absence
- 5.38%
- Persistent absence
- 17.78%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Pius X Catholic Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Chelmsford
-
Kings Road Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Chelmsford
-
Newlands Spring Primary and Nursery School0.5 miles
Primary · Chelmsford
-
Lawford Mead Primary & Nursery0.6 miles
Primary · Chelmsford
-
Maltese Road Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Chelmsford
Other schools in Chelmsford
Parkwood Academy ranks 25th of the 46 ranked primary schools in Chelmsford.
- Baddow Hall Infant School Primary
- Baddow Hall Junior School Primary
- Barnes Farm Primary School Primary
- Beehive Lane Community Primary School Primary
- Boreham Primary School Primary
- Broomfield Primary School Primary
- Chancellor Park Primary School, Chelmsford Primary
- Christchurch Church of England Primary School Primary
- Cold Norton Primary School Primary
- Collingwood Primary School Primary
- East Hanningfield Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Elmwood Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Parkwood Academy teach?
- Parkwood Academy teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Chelmsford.
- Who is the head of school of Parkwood Academy?
- The head of school of Parkwood Academy is Mrs Lisa Cracknell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Parkwood Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Parkwood Academy, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Parkwood Academy?
- Parkwood Academy has 196 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Parkwood Academy full?
- Parkwood Academy has capacity for 210 pupils and 196 on roll (93%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Parkwood Academy a faith school?
- No. Parkwood Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Parkwood Academy have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Parkwood Academy as having nursery classes.
- Is Parkwood Academy part of an academy trust?
- Parkwood Academy is part of SOUTH ESSEX ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Parkwood Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 52% in 2022/23 and 66% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Parkwood Academy compare with other schools in Essex?
- Parkwood Academy ranked 196th of 388 primary schools in Essex for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Parkwood Academy's absence rate?
- Parkwood Academy's overall absence rate is 5.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Parkwood Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Parkwood Academy'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 1 July 2026.