Town End Junior School

Town End Junior School is a maintained junior school that inspectors found to be performing well overall, with high expectations, calm and focused classrooms, and a broad, ambitious curriculum. Pupils are happy, behave well, achieve well in their work, and benefit from strong reading provision and effective support for pupils with SEND. Parents are overwhelmingly positive, staff feel leaders consider workload and wellbeing, and governors understand the school and hold leaders to account. The school's personal development offer is exceptionally strong, with values-based character education, leadership roles, clubs, trips and community activities preparing pupils well for life in modern Britain. The main concern is that strong current work is not yet reflected in published outcomes: 2024 national curriculum test results for the expected standard in reading and mathematics were below the national average, and several pupils did not perform well. Inspectors also found that pupils' recall of key knowledge is more fragile in some subjects, so they are not consistently building deep bodies of knowledge or making meaningful links across the curriculum. The school has identified this as the key improvement point and should ensure pupils remember their learning across all subjects. This was the school's second routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and was carried out as a graded inspection; no overall effectiveness grade is given under the current framework. Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Strengths

• High expectations and well-established routines create calm, focused lessons.
• Pupils behave well, show politeness and care for each other.
• Pupils are happy, work hard and achieve well in their work.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced, ambitious and well sequenced.
• Staff have strong subject knowledge and deliver the curriculum effectively.
• Regular revisiting helps pupils retain knowledge and make connections.
• Reading is a priority, with frequent reading and engaging texts.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported effectively.
• Attendance is checked closely and work with families is having a positive impact.
• The personal development programme is exceptional and values-driven.
• Pupils learn British values, respect differences and learn about health and relationships.
• Leadership roles, clubs, events and residential trips build confidence and teamwork.
• Governors understand the school and hold leaders to account.
• Staff feel leaders consider workload and wellbeing.
• Parents overwhelmingly value the school.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Published 2024 outcomes for the expected standard in reading and mathematics are below the national average.
• Several pupils did not perform well in national curriculum tests last year.
• Pupils' recall of key knowledge is more fragile in some subjects.
• Pupils are not consistently developing deep bodies of knowledge or making meaningful links across the curriculum.

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 Town End Junior School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.5% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Town End Junior 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 Town End Junior School had 23.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.9% 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, 19.3% of pupils at Town End Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.8% 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 Town End Junior School received £7,213 and spent £6,131 for each of its 187 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £0 (-£1 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 Alfreton · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

What is Town End Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Town End Junior School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Town End Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Town End Junior School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Town End Junior School have?

Town End Junior School has 187 pupils on roll.

What age range does Town End Junior School cover?

Town End Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Town End Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 65% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Town End Junior School?

Town End Junior School is at Alfreton Road, Tibshelf, Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 5PB.