Hope Primary School

Hope Primary School is a small community primary in the Valley Federation, and this graded inspection found it performing well across the main areas of school life. Leaders have responded quickly to the areas for improvement from the previous inspection, and pupils’ achievement is improving. Pupils benefit from a curriculum that is now well planned in most subjects, a strong reading and phonics offer, and a wide range of enriching activities, including outdoor learning, music, community events and well-being support. Behaviour is calm and positive, pupils feel safe and happy, and attendance and punctuality have improved. The school’s support for pupils with SEND is a notable strength: needs are identified swiftly, external help is used well, lessons are adapted, and parents value the inclusive approach. Early years provision is caring and well organised, with strong outdoor learning and effective support for children’s speech and language. Staff are well supported and proud to work at the school, and leaders and governors have used the federation effectively to drive improvement. The main area for further work is assessment. In a few foundation subjects and in the early years, assessment is not used sharply enough to check what pupils and children have remembered and understood, so gaps in knowledge are not always identified quickly or addressed. The school needs to strengthen assessment so that it reliably informs next steps and ensures all pupils build the knowledge and skills they need.

Strengths

• Ambitious curriculum with strong outdoor and environmental learning
• High expectations for pupils’ achievement, behaviour and conduct
• Pupils feel safe, happy and respectful, and behaviour is positive
• Well-planned and consistently taught phonics with matched reading books
• Pupils read widely and often and receive effective support for fluency
• Expert support for pupils with SEND, with swift identification and well-adapted lessons
• Strong early years care, routines and outdoor provision
• Wide range of enrichment activities, including art, French, tai chi, multi-sports and community events
• Effective personal development, including well-being support and understanding of protected characteristics
• Improved attendance and punctuality
• Effective leadership and governance, with beneficial federation working
• Staff feel well supported and are proud to work at the school
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment is not used effectively enough in a few foundation subjects and in early years, so gaps in knowledge are not identified quickly.
• Early years checks do not reliably confirm that children have learned the key knowledge they need.
• Some gaps in learning can slow pupils’ progress because next steps are not always precisely informed by assessment.

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 Hope Primary School attended 95.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.7% 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, 4.8% of pupils at Hope 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 Hope Primary School had 15.2 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, 23.9% of pupils at Hope Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.0% 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 Hope Primary School received £8,447 and spent £9,602 for each of its 67 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £103,000 (-£1,533 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 Hope Valley · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

What is Hope Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Hope Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Hope Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Hope Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Hope Primary School have?

Hope Primary School has 67 pupils on roll.

What age range does Hope Primary School cover?

Hope Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Hope Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 33% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Hope Primary School?

Hope Primary School is at Edale Road, Hope, Hope Valley, Derbyshire, S33 6ZF.