Copthorne Community Infant School

Copthorne Community Infant School has been judged to require special measures. Safeguarding is met and pupils are happy, safe and well cared for, with a strong personal development and wellbeing offer. However, the school is not providing an acceptable standard of education: achievement, curriculum and teaching, early years, and leadership and governance all require urgent improvement, and leaders and governors are not demonstrating the capacity to secure rapid or sustained change without external support. The main concerns are that ineffective teaching leaves too many pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils, without secure foundational knowledge in reading, writing and mathematics. Phonics outcomes by the end of Year 1 have been weak for three years, early years children are not well prepared for Year 1, and attendance and persistent absence remain well above national averages. Inclusion is inconsistent, with some pupils with SEND and other vulnerabilities not receiving the support they need, and leaders’ and governors’ checks on school performance lack precision and challenge. The school is small, with 97 pupils, and is part of the Unity Federation. It serves a community with well-above-average free school meals and SEN support, and above-average deprivation. Despite the serious weaknesses, pupils’ personal development, pastoral care, enrichment opportunities, positive relationships and generally good behaviour are notable strengths, and parents typically value the care their children receive. Recent changes to the curriculum and phonics are too new to show impact, so urgent action and external support are needed.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture in which pupils feel safe.
• The personal development and wellbeing programme is positive and well designed.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs and activities, including sports, football and gardening.
• Pastoral care and support for pupils’ social, emotional and mental health needs are thoughtful and effective.
• Pupils are happy, polite, welcoming and proud of their school.
• Pupils generally behave well, show kindness and respect, and bullying is not an issue.
• Pupils develop an age-appropriate understanding of fundamental British values.
• Staff feel motivated and proud to work at the school, and leaders consider their wellbeing and workload.
• Parents and carers typically endorse the school and value the care their children receive.
• Children in the early years are safe, well cared for and receive timely SEND support.

Areas for Improvement

• The school requires special measures because it is failing to provide an acceptable standard of education.
• Leaders and governors lack the capacity to secure necessary improvement without external support.
• Pupils do not achieve as well as they should because of ineffective teaching.
• Too many pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, do not secure the phonics knowledge needed by the end of Year 1.
• Pupils do not secure the writing and mathematics knowledge needed to be ready for Year 3.
• Teachers do not provide work that closely matches what pupils know and can do.
• Teachers do not consistently check pupils’ understanding or correct mistakes quickly enough.
• The early reading curriculum is not taught well, and staff cannot deliver the phonics programme effectively.
• Early years provision has been unsettled, and too many children are not prepared for Year 1.
• Early years staff are not sufficiently skilled in promoting language development through questioning and conversation.
• Attendance over time has been consistently low, and persistent absence is well above the national average.
• Inclusion is not consistently effective, and some pupils with SEND do not receive the support they need.
• Support for disadvantaged pupils does not consistently reduce barriers to learning or improve attendance.
• Leaders and governors do not have an accurate understanding of the school’s performance and are overly positive.
• Governors do not sufficiently challenge leaders or tackle weaknesses in early years, curriculum and teaching.
• Leaders have not acted quickly enough, and recent curriculum changes are too new to show impact.

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 Copthorne Community Infant School attended 93.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 20.3% 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, 2.1% of pupils at Copthorne Community 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 Copthorne Community Infant School had 15.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 20.0% 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, 16.7% of pupils at Copthorne Community Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.1% 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 Copthorne Community Infant School received £9,179 and spent £9,832 for each of its 96 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £28,000 (£293 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 Copthorne Community Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Copthorne Community Infant School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Copthorne Community Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Copthorne Community Infant School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Copthorne Community Infant School have?

Copthorne Community Infant School has 96 pupils on roll.

What age range does Copthorne Community Infant School cover?

Copthorne Community Infant School for pupils aged 5 to 7.

Where is Copthorne Community Infant School?

Copthorne Community Infant School is at Rodgers Lane, Alfreton, Derbyshire, DE55 7FF.