Marlpool Infant School

Marlpool Infant School is a small, happy and caring infant school where pupils feel safe, behave well and enjoy learning. Inspectors found positive provision across education, behaviour, personal development, leadership and early years. The school has high expectations, a strong reading and phonics programme, effective support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, and a caring early years approach that helps children get off to a strong start. Attendance has improved, and pupils benefit from community activities and roles that build responsibility.

Strengths

• Pupils feel safe, happy and cared for in a positive school community.
• The REACH values successfully guide pupils' behaviour and attitudes.
• Pupils behave very well and respond positively to the school's high expectations.
• The curriculum is ambitious and reviewed regularly across most subjects.
• Reading and phonics are taught strongly, with well-matched books and expert staff training.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils are identified and supported highly effectively.
• Early years provision gives children a strong start, especially in communication and language.
• Attendance has improved through new processes and prioritisation.
• Pupils value community activities, including charity work and intergenerational projects.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and feel their workload and well-being are considered.
• Governors and staff understand what is working well and what needs to improve.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective and supported by a positive safeguarding culture.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of foundation subjects, key knowledge is not clearly identified, so pupils do not build or remember their learning in a well-ordered way.
• Pupils have a limited understanding and recall of fundamental British values and the differences between people.
• Safeguarding records do not always fully document the actions and decisions taken, reducing the school's ability to evaluate impact 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 Marlpool Infant School attended 96.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 7.4% 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 Marlpool 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 Marlpool Infant School had 16.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 50.0% 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, 32.1% of pupils at Marlpool Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.6% 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 Marlpool Infant School received £13,019 and spent £12,921 for each of its 28 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £13,000 (£464 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 Heanor · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

What is Marlpool Infant School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Marlpool Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Marlpool Infant School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Marlpool Infant School have?

Marlpool Infant School has 28 pupils on roll.

What age range does Marlpool Infant School cover?

Marlpool Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Marlpool Infant School?

Marlpool Infant School is at Prospect Road, Marlpool, Heanor, Derbyshire, DE75 7NF.