Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School

Duddon St Peter's is a small Church of England village primary that pupils describe as kind, welcoming and personal. Since its previous inspection, leaders and governors have driven significant improvement, and this inspection found the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision all to be good. The curriculum is now carefully designed and ambitious across subjects, teachers' subject knowledge has improved, and pupils engage well and achieve securely from the early years onwards. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. Pupils benefit from strong phonics teaching, a broad range of experiences and clear expectations for calm, polite behaviour. Pupils with SEND are identified early and generally well supported to access the curriculum. The school also has a strong community feel, with supportive staff, positive relationships with parents and knowledgeable governors who provide effective oversight. Two main areas need further work. Attendance is below average and the school's procedures are not rigorous enough, so some pupils miss valuable learning. In addition, the school does not monitor carefully enough how pupils with SEND who do not have an EHC plan are progressing towards their individual goals, which limits assurance that they are learning all they should.

Strengths

• Curriculum is carefully designed, exciting and ambitious across all subjects.
• Teachers' subject knowledge has greatly improved through effective support.
• Pupils are curious, engaged learners who achieve well across the curriculum.
• Pupils with SEND are identified at the earliest possible age and well supported to access the curriculum.
• Phonics is delivered with fidelity by well-trained, skilful staff.
• Pupils read with fluency, accuracy and expression, and older pupils are confident readers.
• Pupils are calm, polite and well mannered, with high levels of respect.
• Pupils have opportunities for responsibility and a broad range of trips.
• Leaders and governors have strong oversight and have driven significant improvement.
• Staff work as a team and feel supported in their well-being.
• Parents appreciate the strong relationships built with school staff.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Attendance rates are below average.
• Procedures for managing attendance are not as rigorous as they could be.
• Some pupils miss valuable learning because they do not attend regularly and on time.
• The school does not monitor carefully enough the progress of pupils with SEND who do not have an EHC plan towards their individual goals.

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 Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School attended 91.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 23.7% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary 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 Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School had 13.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.2% 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, 16.7% of pupils at Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 10.6% 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 Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School received £10,456 and spent £9,861 for each of its 67 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £27,000 (£402 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).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Tarporley · Cheshire West and Chester local authority: places and applications

What is Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School have?

Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School has 66 pupils on roll.

What age range does Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School cover?

Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School?

Duddon St Peter's CofE Primary School is at Tarporley Road, Duddon, Duddon St Peter's Ce Primary School, Tarporley, Cheshire, CW6 0EL.