Parwich Primary School

Parwich Primary School is a small, caring village school with 21 pupils, held in very high regard by its community. Safeguarding standards are met, and the school has a strong family feel underpinned by its belief that 'together everybody achieves more'. The inspection found the school performing well overall, with personal development and wellbeing identified as a particular strength. The school's enrichment programme is extensive and ensures all pupils benefit, while pupils show impressive understanding of British values and protected characteristics, behave very well, and are happy and respectful. Attendance has improved and is now broadly in line with national averages, helped by the introduction of a breakfast club. Achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance are all at expected standards. Pupils achieve well from their starting points, teachers adapt lessons skilfully for mixed-age classes, early reading is taught well, and pupils with SEND typically keep up with their peers. Leadership is effective, governance is robust, and staff feel well supported. However, a small number of subjects have less secure recall, some SEND targets lack clarity and precision, and the pupil premium strategy does not yet have suitable processes to measure the impact of its initiatives. These are minor areas for improvement in an otherwise strong and cohesive school.

Strengths

• Personal development and wellbeing is a strength and exceeds that typically found in a school of this size.
• An extensive enrichment programme includes residentials, brass instruments, tennis, fencing, horse riding, sailing and competitive sport, with careful checks to ensure no pupil misses out.
• Pupils have an impressive understanding of fundamental British values and protected characteristics, and are adamant that discrimination is unacceptable.
• Pupils are happy, respectful, courteous and behave very well; poor behaviour is rare and bullying is extremely rare.
• The curriculum is expertly designed for mixed-age classes, and early reading is taught well so pupils develop a love of reading.
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge and adapt lessons skilfully to different ages and abilities, including for pupils with SEND.
• The school is inclusive, knows each pupil well, and swiftly puts support in place so barriers to learning are reduced.
• Leadership has created a caring, family-feel school that is held in the highest regard by the community it serves.
• Governance is systematic and well organised, with robust systems to check school performance and a clear ambitious vision.
• Attendance oversight is secure, the breakfast club has improved punctuality and attendance, and current rates are broadly in line with national figures.
• Staff workload and well-being are carefully considered, and staff consistently view the support they receive positively.
• Pupils take on roles such as monitors, librarians and sports leaders diligently, and the school council leads initiatives that leaders take seriously.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, some pupils' recall of prior learning is less secure.
• Targets set for pupils with SEND are not consistently clear, specific and measurable in a small number of cases.
• The pupil premium strategy lacks suitable processes to measure the impact of its initiatives, so leaders do not have a fully rounded view of its effectiveness.

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 Parwich Primary School attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.1%). 10.0% 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 2024–25, 0.0% of pupils at Parwich 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 Parwich Primary School had 11.4 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, 36.0% of pupils at Parwich Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 8.0% 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 Parwich Primary School received £15,064 and spent £15,430 for each of its 25 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £31,000 (£1,245 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).

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What is Parwich Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Parwich Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Parwich Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Parwich Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Parwich Primary School have?

Parwich Primary School has 25 pupils on roll.

What age range does Parwich Primary School cover?

Parwich Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

Where is Parwich Primary School?

Parwich Primary School is at Parwich, Parwich Primary School, Parwich, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, DE6 1QJ.