Wessington Primary School

Wessington Primary School is a small, close-knit school within The Framework Federation that performs strongly overall, with inspectors rating attendance and behaviour, inclusion, and personal development and wellbeing as 'strong standard', while achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, and leadership and governance are rated 'expected standard'. Pupils are happy, behave exceptionally well, and benefit from a highly inclusive culture in which disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND are well supported. Attendance is consistently above national averages and persistent absence is low, and the school's enrichment programme is a real strength. Safeguarding standards are met. Pupils achieve well in national tests at the end of Year 6, with results in reading, writing and mathematics consistently above the national average, including for disadvantaged pupils. However, the quality of written work across the school is not as strong as pupils' verbal responses; handwriting and presentation are inconsistent, and the school lacks a systematic approach to teaching these skills. Assessment of written work is not consistently applied, so pupils do not always receive clear feedback on how to improve and sometimes repeat errors. In the early years, some children, including some with SEND, do not reach a good level of development by the end of Reception and are less prepared for Year 1 than they might be. Leaders are deeply committed and understand the school well, and governors provide effective support and challenge. The federation supports staff training and subject leadership. The main improvement priorities are to strengthen early years achievement, develop pupils' handwriting and presentation, and ensure consistent application of marking and assessment.

Strengths

• Attendance is consistently above national averages and persistent absence is well below national averages.
• Pupils behave exceptionally well, showing politeness, self-discipline, and respect.
• The school is highly inclusive, with strong support for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Pupils achieve well in national tests at the end of Year 6, including disadvantaged pupils.
• Personal development and wellbeing provision is strong, with a wide range of enrichment activities.
• Early reading is a high priority and effectively helps pupils become secure, fluent readers.
• Governance is effective, providing appropriate support and challenge.
• Staff workload and wellbeing are well supported, with access to a rich training programme.

Areas for Improvement

• The quality of written work across the school is not as good as pupils' verbal responses.
• Pupils have not secured necessary accuracy and fluency in handwriting or presentation, and there is no systematic approach to teaching these skills.
• Assessment of written work is not consistently applied, leading to unclear feedback and repeated errors.
• Some children, including some with SEND, do not reach a good level of development by the end of Reception.
• In a small number of areas, such as aspects of teaching and early years, the impact of leaders' actions is not fully realised.

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 Wessington Primary School attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.1% 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 Wessington 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 Wessington Primary School had 17.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 21.7% 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, 5.2% of pupils at Wessington Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.0% 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 Wessington Primary School received £7,861 and spent £8,179 for each of its 89 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £63,000 (£711 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
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All schools in Alfreton · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

What is Wessington Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Wessington Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Wessington Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Wessington Primary School have?

Wessington Primary School has 96 pupils on roll.

What age range does Wessington Primary School cover?

Wessington Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Wessington Primary School?

Wessington Primary School is at The Green, Wessington, Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 6DQ.