Speedwell Infant School

Speedwell Infant School is a happy, welcoming school where pupils are well cared for and achieve well from their starting points. Inspectors found strong relationships, good behaviour and a well-organised, hands-on curriculum that helps pupils remember their learning. Reading is a particular strength, with a well-taught phonics programme and pupils who enjoy daily stories and family reading sessions. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported and achieve well, and the early years provision is exciting and well designed overall. Leadership is strong, staff feel well supported and governors know pupils and families well. Safeguarding is effective. The school's main areas for improvement are precision in the curriculum. In some subjects, leaders have not clearly set out the key knowledge pupils are expected to know and remember, so pupils' knowledge may not build securely over time. In a small number of early years areas, the curriculum is not fully planned and sequenced, and important milestones are not clear. Pupils' knowledge of fundamental British values and different faiths is also inconsistent, although they know to respect difference. This was the school's first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and there have been no significant changes since its previous inspection. The school remains good across all key judgements, and the report notes that schools inspected from September 2024 are not given an overall effectiveness grade.

Strengths

• Pupils love attending school and feel well supported from the moment they start.
• Staff build consistently positive relationships and know pupils well.
• Pupils achieve well from their starting points.
• Pupils behave well and understand the school's Golden Rules.
• Pupils are motivated by incentives such as raffle tickets and star of the week.
• Pupils look after each other and learn to value themselves and others.
• The curriculum is well organised and tailored specifically to the school's pupils.
• The hands-on approach to learning helps pupils remember what they have learned.
• Pupils develop a love of reading through daily stories and family reading sessions.
• The phonics programme is well organised and taught well.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and achieve well.
• The early years provision is exciting, happy and busy, with well-designed activities.
• The personal, social and health education programme is well structured.
• Pupils take on leadership roles such as lunchtime helpers and mini-sports leaders.
• Leaders, including governors, know pupils and families well.
• Staff share leaders' high ambitions and feel well supported and proud to work at the school.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, the curriculum lacks precision about the key knowledge pupils are expected to acquire and retain.
• In a small number of early years areas, the curriculum is not fully planned and sequenced, and important milestones are not clear.
• Some pupils' knowledge of British values and different faiths is inconsistent.

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 Speedwell Infant School attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 23.2% 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 Speedwell 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 Speedwell Infant School had 17.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.1% 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, 18.4% of pupils at Speedwell Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.9% 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 Speedwell Infant School received £10,183 and spent £9,890 for each of its 96 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £242,000 (£2,537 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 Chesterfield · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

What is Speedwell Infant School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Speedwell Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Speedwell Infant School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Speedwell Infant School have?

Speedwell Infant School has 103 pupils on roll.

What age range does Speedwell Infant School cover?

Speedwell Infant School for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Speedwell Infant School?

Speedwell Infant School is at College Avenue, Staveley, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S43 3JJ.