Combs Infant School

Combs Infant School is a small, nurturing village school where pupils are happy, feel safe and achieve well. Inspectors found respectful relationships between staff, pupils and families, high expectations of behaviour, and a calm, orderly environment. Reading is a clear priority, early years provision gives children a strong start, and personal development is a notable strength, with pupils benefiting from the rural setting, clubs, trips and leadership roles. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and staff are proud to work at the school. The school has improved significantly since its previous inspection, when it was judged to require improvement. Leaders have reviewed the curriculum, and where it is most effective, key knowledge is clearly defined and pupils learn well. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified effectively. However, in some subjects the curriculum is too broad and does not clearly set out the most important knowledge, so teaching is less well thought out and pupils do not remember as much as they could. Governance has also improved but is not yet fully effective. Governors do not consistently monitor the school’s policies or hold leaders to account across all areas of school life. In addition, incidents of inappropriate behaviour are not recorded, which means the school cannot analyse patterns and governors lack the information they need. No overall effectiveness grade is given under the current inspection framework.

Strengths

• Nurturing village school with respectful and positive relationships between staff, pupils and families
• Pupils are happy, feel safe and know staff will listen and help
• Pupils achieve well and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning
• High expectations of behaviour are met, with pupils behaving very well
• Reading is prioritised, including buddy reading in Nursery and a well-taught phonics programme
• Pupils become confident, fluent readers and staff support those who fall behind
• Early years provision gives children a great start, with strong support for communication and language
• Personal development provision is a strength, offering a broad range of opportunities, clubs and trips
• Pupils attend well and learn in a calm and orderly environment
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified effectively
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Governance has improved significantly since the previous inspection
• Staff are proud to work at the school and praise leaders’ consideration of well-being and workload

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, the curriculum is too broad and does not clearly identify the key knowledge pupils should learn
• In those subjects, teaching is less well thought out and pupils do not remember the most important knowledge
• Incidents of inappropriate behaviour are not recorded, so the school cannot analyse patterns and governors lack necessary information
• Governors do not consistently monitor the effectiveness of the school’s policies
• Governors are not yet effectively holding leaders to account across all areas of school life

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 2022–23 pupils at Combs Infant School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.1%). 8.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 16.2%).

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 2023–24, 0.0% of pupils at Combs Infant School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.0%). 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 2023–24 Combs Infant School had 10.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.8). Of its teachers in 2023–24, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 17.1%).

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 2023–24 Combs Infant School received £19,827 and spent £17,002 for each of its 20 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £155,000 (£7,756 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 High Peak · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

What is Combs Infant School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Combs Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Combs Infant School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Combs Infant School have?

Combs Infant School has 14 pupils on roll.

What age range does Combs Infant School cover?

Combs Infant School for pupils aged 2 to 7.

Where is Combs Infant School?

Combs Infant School is at Lesser Lane, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Combs High Peak, Derbyshire, SK23 9UZ.