Royd Nursery and Infant School

Royd Nursery and Infant School is a welcoming, happy community school for pupils aged 2 to 7, part of the Deepcar Primary Partnership federation. Inspected in October 2024, it provides a high-quality education for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and pupils achieve well. The school is particularly strong in behaviour and attitudes, personal development and early years provision: relationships are warm and respectful, pupils behave exceptionally well, and the early years environment is exemplary. Reading is prioritised through a structured phonics approach, attendance has improved, governance is strong, and safeguarding is effective. The main area for improvement is that in some subjects, notably mathematics, pupils are sometimes moved on to more complex tasks before their foundational knowledge is secure. This can limit their ability to build understanding over time. Otherwise, the curriculum is broad and ambitious, teachers have strong subject knowledge, learning is well scaffolded for pupils with SEND, and pupils benefit from purposeful personal development opportunities. As this was a graded inspection under the current framework, no overall effectiveness grade was given.

Strengths

• Warm, respectful relationships create a welcoming and happy school culture.
• High-quality education supports all pupils, including those with SEND, to achieve well.
• Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary in lessons and around the school.
• Pupils show excellent manners and care for one another.
• The early years provision is exemplary and highly nurturing.
• Staff interactions in early years are exceptionally high quality and extend children’s vocabulary.
• Reading is prioritised, with a structured phonics approach helping pupils become fluent readers.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious and well structured from early years through to Year 2.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and scaffold learning effectively, including for pupils with SEND.
• Personal development opportunities are purposeful, including targeted access for disadvantaged pupils.
• Attendance rates have improved through meticulous monitoring and proactive parental engagement.
• Governors provide strong support and challenge, with good knowledge of SEND, safeguarding and attendance.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In subjects such as mathematics, some pupils move to more complex tasks before foundational knowledge is secure.
• As a result, some pupils are less able to build on their understanding over time.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Royd Nursery and Infant School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Royd Nursery and Infant School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Royd Nursery and Infant School had 20.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 8.2% of pupils at Royd Nursery and Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Royd Nursery and Infant School received £8,305 and spent £8,312 for each of its 179 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £124,000 (£692 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

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What is Royd Nursery and Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Royd Nursery and Infant School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Royd Nursery and Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Royd Nursery and Infant School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Royd Nursery and Infant School have?

Royd Nursery and Infant School has 207 pupils on roll.

What age range does Royd Nursery and Infant School cover?

Royd Nursery and Infant School for pupils aged 2 to 7.

Where is Royd Nursery and Infant School?

Royd Nursery and Infant School is at Carr Road, Deepcar, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S36 2PR.