Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School

Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School is a small, above-average-deprivation infant and nursery school where pupils feel happy, safe and well supported. The early years provision is a notable strength: children settle quickly, benefit from a well-sequenced curriculum and typically make notable progress so they are ready for Year 1. Reading and phonics are also taught well, behaviour is calm and positive, and safeguarding standards are met.

Strengths

• Strong early years provision where children make notable progress and are ready for Year 1
• Effective phonics and reading teaching, with pupils achieving well in the phonics screening check
• Calm, orderly classrooms and positive pupil behaviour
• Pupils feel happy, safe and supported, and report that bullying is rare
• Warm staff-pupil relationships and effective pastoral support for wellbeing
• Leaders know the school and community well and have identified appropriate improvement priorities
• Effective communication with external professionals, families and other schools
• Staff receive useful professional development and feel supported with manageable workload
• Inclusive ethos ensures pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils access school life, including trips
• Pupils value leadership roles and demonstrate collaboration and respect

Areas for Improvement

• Too many pupils are persistently absent, and leaders do not routinely analyse attendance information
• Assessment weaknesses mean pupils' gaps and misconceptions are not identified or addressed quickly enough, especially in writing and mathematics
• Teaching quality varies across subjects, so pupils do not consistently remember their learning in history, art and geography
• Some staff lack the subject knowledge needed to teach the curriculum effectively
• Adaptations for pupils with SEND often support the immediate task but do not build longer-term knowledge
• Leaders do not routinely monitor the impact of SEND support
• Pupil premium plans are not clearly shown to improve outcomes consistently for disadvantaged pupils
• Governors lack a precise understanding of the impact of some leaders' work, limiting accountability
• Personal development is limited beyond trips and visits, with few opportunities for pupils to develop talents or interests
• Pupils do not understand fundamental British values or how they connect to the school's values
• In some classes, work does not take sufficient account of what pupils know and can do, particularly for pupils with SEND
• Improvement actions to ensure swift identification of misconceptions are taking too long to embed

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 Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.3% 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, 1.1% of pupils at Birk Hill Infant & 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 Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School had 14.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.0% 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, 19.0% of pupils at Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% 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 Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School received £12,692 and spent £12,235 for each of its 58 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £102,000 (£1,761 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 North East Derbyshire · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

What is Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School is Needs attention, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School have?

Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School has 63 pupils on roll.

What age range does Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School cover?

Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School?

Birk Hill Infant & Nursery School is at Chestnut Avenue, Eckington, Derbyshire, S21 4BE.