Pottery Primary School

Pottery Primary School is performing at the expected standard overall, with safeguarding standards met. The school has been through a period of change, with a new headteacher appointed in September 2024, and leaders have worked quickly to stabilise the school, introduce clear systems and expectations, and build leadership capacity. Attendance and behaviour have improved significantly, pupils feel safe and cared for, and there is a strong sense of belonging. Early years and inclusion are particular strengths, with effective support for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, and personal development is central to the school's work. Leadership and governance are also secure, with staff feeling supported and governors providing appropriate challenge. However, the school's impact on pupils' achievement is not yet secure. Outcomes at the end of Year 6 have been low over time, and gaps in pupils' foundational knowledge have limited how well they build on prior learning. Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND have not achieved well from their starting points. While the curriculum has been reviewed and is more structured, teaching is not yet consistently delivering the intended impact: pupils do not always apply key skills accurately, and transcription and foundational skills are not secure across all classes. The quality of learning varies where expectations and adaptations are not fully aligned to pupils' needs. Leaders know what needs to improve and have relevant plans in place. The next steps are to embed the new approaches to attendance, curriculum and behaviour consistently, apply the inclusion vision uniformly, and ensure high expectations of transcriptional and foundational knowledge so that pupils become fluent in basic skills. Published outcomes are not yet reflecting the recent improvements, but current pupils are beginning to learn key knowledge with more confidence.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture where pupils feel safe.
• Behaviour has improved significantly; pupils are calm, respectful and bullying is rare.
• Attendance is improving steadily, including for disadvantaged pupils, through clear systems and early support.
• Early years provision is welcoming and well-organised, with a strong focus on communication, language and phonics.
• Inclusion is well led, with early identification of needs, a graduated response and effective use of pupil premium funding.
• Leadership and governance are strong; leaders have stabilised the school and staff feel supported and valued.
• Personal development is central to the school's work, promoting equality, respect, British values and wider opportunities.
• Pupils build positive relationships, feel cared for and benefit from a strong sense of belonging.
• Reading and phonics are taught well, with pupils using their phonic knowledge confidently.
• Support for pupils with SEND, including those with anxiety, is thoughtful and helps them access wider opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Outcomes at the end of Year 6 have been low over time, with gaps in pupils' foundational knowledge.
• Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND have not achieved well from their starting points.
• The impact of curriculum and teaching on achievement is not yet secure, and pupils do not always apply key skills accurately.
• Transcription and foundational skills are not consistently secure, limiting how well pupils deepen their understanding.
• The quality of learning varies where expectations and adaptations are not fully matched to all pupils' needs.
• New systems for attendance, curriculum and behaviour need to be implemented consistently to embed improvements.
• The school's vision for inclusion is not yet applied consistently across all areas.
• Systems to check the impact of the personal development programme are still developing.
• Published outcomes do not yet show the impact of recent improvements.

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 Pottery Primary School attended 95.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.7% 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, 1.7% of pupils at Pottery 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 Pottery Primary School had 22.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.2% 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, 21.8% of pupils at Pottery Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.3% 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 Pottery Primary School received £7,220 and spent £6,886 for each of its 285 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £9,000 (-£30 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 Pottery Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Pottery Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Pottery Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Pottery Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Pottery Primary School have?

Pottery Primary School has 285 pupils on roll.

What age range does Pottery Primary School cover?

Pottery Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 23% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Pottery Primary School?

Pottery Primary School is at Kilbourne Road, Belper, Derbyshire, DE56 1HA.