Ambergate Primary School

Ambergate Primary School is a small primary school that performs strongly in several areas. Inspectors found the school to be highly inclusive, with strong leadership and governance, high attendance, and calm, positive behaviour. Pupils feel safe, enjoy school, and benefit from a well-considered personal development programme that promotes respect and diversity. Safeguarding standards are met. The quality of education is at the expected standard. Pupils make suitable progress and are prepared well for their next stage, but some are less secure in applying their learning consistently. Recent improvements in writing and spelling are beginning to have an impact, though attainment in combined reading, writing and mathematics, and in mathematics alone, was below national averages in 2024/25. The main area for development is ensuring all staff model foundational skills, such as handwriting, precisely and consistently. There is also some variation in how early years staff deepen children's thinking during interactions.

Strengths

• Highly inclusive culture where pupils' needs are identified quickly and supported effectively.
• High and improving attendance, with effective systems to address barriers.
• Calm and positive behaviour across the school, with low-level disruption rare.
• Effective leadership and governance that understands the school context and drives improvement.
• Strong personal development programme that promotes equality, diversity and respect.
• Pupils feel safe and supported, and bullying is rare and dealt with quickly.
• Early years provides a positive and secure start, helping children settle and develop independence.
• Teaching is typically effective, with clear presentation and appropriate adaptations for SEND.

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff do not model foundational skills, such as handwriting, precisely enough, so some pupils do not practise these skills as often as they could.
• There is some variation in how consistently staff deepen children's thinking during interactions in early years.
• Some pupils are less secure in applying aspects of their learning consistently.
• Achievement in reading, writing and mathematics combined was below the national average in 2024/25, as was mathematics.

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 Ambergate Primary School attended 97.2% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 1.4% 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 Ambergate 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 Ambergate Primary School had 16.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.0% 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, 17.7% of pupils at Ambergate Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.1% 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 Ambergate Primary School received £9,309 and spent £9,153 for each of its 79 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £30,000 (£386 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 Belper · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

What is Ambergate Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Ambergate Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Ambergate Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Ambergate Primary School have?

Ambergate Primary School has 79 pupils on roll.

What age range does Ambergate Primary School cover?

Ambergate Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 36% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Ambergate Primary School?

Ambergate Primary School is at Toadmoor Lane, Ambergate, Belper, Derbyshire, DE56 2GN.