Lons Infant School

Lons Infant School has improved since its previous inspection, when it was judged to require improvement. In April 2025, the school was judged good in all key areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. No overall effectiveness grade is given under current inspection arrangements. This is a small maintained infant school with 56 pupils aged 4 to 7, mixed-age classes, and significant recent leadership and governance changes. Pupils attend an inclusive, welcoming school where relationships are warm and respectful, behaviour is calm and positive, and staff have high expectations, including for pupils with SEND. The curriculum has been strengthened and is broad and ambitious, with a strong reading culture and a consistent phonics approach. Children get off to a positive start in the early years, pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well, personal development is strong, and safeguarding is effective. Leaders and governors understand the school’s priorities and manage staff workload and well-being carefully. The main areas for improvement concern how well learning is deepened and checked. Pupils have too few opportunities to organise their ideas and write their own explanations, and some misconceptions are not identified quickly. Teachers do not routinely check pupils’ understanding before introducing new learning, and activities are not consistently designed to help pupils apply and retain deeper knowledge.

Strengths

• Inclusive and welcoming school with warm, respectful relationships
• Calm and positive behaviour with clear routines
• High expectations for pupils, including those with SEND
• Pupils achieve well and try hard in their learning
• Broad, ambitious and well-organised curriculum
• Strong reading culture and consistent phonics teaching
• Precise support helps pupils who struggle with reading fluency to catch up
• Positive early years provision with strong language development and independence
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and learn the same curriculum as peers
• Strong personal development, including online safety, democracy and equality
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Leaders and governors have a secure understanding of priorities and support staff well-being

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils have too few opportunities to organise ideas and write their own explanations
• Some misconceptions are not identified quickly enough
• Teachers do not routinely check pupils’ understanding to identify gaps in learning
• Activities are not consistently designed to deepen understanding and help pupils apply and retain learning
• Assessment is not used consistently well to inform what to teach next

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 Lons Infant School attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.0% 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, 5.2% of pupils at Lons Infant School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Lons Infant School had 20.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 31.2% 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, 12.5% of pupils at Lons Infant School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 12.5% 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 Lons Infant School received £14,722 and spent £13,478 for each of its 40 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £19,000 (£463 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 Ripley · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

What is Lons Infant School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lons Infant School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Lons Infant School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lons Infant School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Lons Infant School have?

Lons Infant School has 40 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lons Infant School cover?

Lons Infant School for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is Lons Infant School?

Lons Infant School is at Tavistock Avenue, Ripley, Derbyshire, DE5 3SE.