Riddings Infant and Nursery School

Riddings Infant and Nursery School is a happy, kind and nurturing school where pupils behave well and enjoy learning. Inspectors found all judged areas to be good, including early years provision, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school's KINDER values and simple 'be kind' rule shape a respectful culture, and parents speak highly of the care and support staff provide for pupils and families. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and no overall effectiveness grade is given under current inspection arrangements. Early years and reading are particular strengths. Children get off to a strong start, with a sharp focus on communication, language and physical development. Phonics teaching is highly effective and starts promptly in Reception, and pupils who fall behind are helped to catch up quickly. The curriculum is carefully mapped and ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, who are well supported. Personal development is enriched through the Riddings 50, clubs, visits and pupil leadership roles, while governors provide secure oversight and staff feel well supported. The main area for improvement is assessment. In some curriculum areas, checking of pupils' learning is not fully developed, and assessment information is not used consistently to adapt teaching or address misconceptions. Sometimes teaching is not adapted sufficiently when pupils have gaps in knowledge, and learning is not deepened for pupils who complete activities easily. As a result, pupils' work and knowledge are not consistently as strong as they could be.

Strengths

• A happy, kind school where the KINDER values and the 'be kind' rule shape respectful behaviour.
• Pupils behave well, enjoy school and are enthusiastic, considerate learners.
• Staff know pupils well and help them recognise feelings and develop strategies to overcome worries.
• The Riddings 50 and wider experiences enrich pupils' personal development, safety and citizenship.
• Parents highly recommend the school and value its nurturing support for pupils and families.
• Children get a strong start in early years, with a sharp focus on communication, language and physical development.
• Phonics teaching is highly effective and starts promptly in Reception, helping pupils become fluent readers.
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve well in phonics, and pupils who fall behind are supported skilfully to catch up.
• The school promotes a love of reading through engaging storytime.
• Writing is improving, with pupils applying phonics to spelling and becoming confident storytellers.
• The curriculum is carefully mapped and ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND.
• SEND support is effective and well coordinated with external agencies, especially for speech and language.
• Teaching is clear and supported by memory strategies such as Memory Monday and Rainbow Jobs.
• Playtimes are joyful and cooperative, with organised activities and assemblies teaching risk mitigation and dispute resolution.
• Pupils develop leadership and citizenship through pupil parliament, safeguarding group and play leader roles.
• Governors have secure oversight and support and challenge the school effectively.
• Staff feel listened to, workload is manageable, and training is purposeful.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment approaches are not fully developed in some curriculum areas.
• Assessment information is not used consistently to adapt teaching or address misconceptions, so pupils' knowledge is not as secure as it could be.
• Teaching is not consistently adapted for pupils with gaps in knowledge or for pupils who complete activities easily, limiting consistency and depth.

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 Riddings Infant and Nursery School attended 94.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.0% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Riddings Infant and Nursery 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 Riddings Infant and Nursery School had 20.2 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, 19.9% of pupils at Riddings Infant and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 Riddings Infant and Nursery School received £8,734 and spent £8,825 for each of its 188 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £99,000 (£525 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 Alfreton · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

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

The latest Ofsted rating for Riddings Infant and Nursery School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

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

Riddings Infant and Nursery School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Riddings Infant and Nursery School have?

Riddings Infant and Nursery School has 201 pupils on roll.

What age range does Riddings Infant and Nursery School cover?

Riddings Infant and Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Riddings Infant and Nursery School?

Riddings Infant and Nursery School is at West Street, Riddings, Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 4EW.