Elton CofE Primary School

Elton CofE Primary School is a very small church primary school with 14 pupils, most of whom have SEND. It was previously judged inadequate and placed in special measures; following this inspection, Ofsted says the school no longer requires special measures. Inspectors saw a determined and improving school where pupils feel happy and safe, behave well, and benefit from effective safeguarding. Personal development is a clear strength, early reading is well structured, pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported appropriately, and wider opportunities such as swimming, music and environmental projects are valued.

Strengths

• Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school.
• Pupils increasingly model the school’s values of kindness, respect and determination.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective, including online safety.
• Personal development helps pupils become thoughtful, respectful and appreciative of diversity.
• Early reading is well structured, with appropriate strategies and effective support for pupils who fall behind.
• Pupils with SEND are identified swiftly and supported to access the same curriculum as their peers.
• Pupils with SEND are taught practical self-regulation strategies.
• Pupils benefit from wider opportunities such as swimming, music and environmental projects.
• Punctuality systems have improved, and breakfast club provides a calm start to the day.
• Staff are proud to be part of the school and understand why changes are needed.
• Governors are beginning to hold the school to account effectively.
• The school no longer requires special measures.

Areas for Improvement

• The writing curriculum is not fully developed across the school.
• Expectations for writing are too low for pupils with SEND.
• Pupils with SEND do not rehearse key writing skills often enough to write fluently and independently.
• Recent curriculum changes are still taking root, so pupils do not always benefit fully.
• The impact of the new curriculum on pupils’ long-term recall is not yet evident.
• Delivery of the curriculum varies, particularly in wider curriculum subjects.
• Some staff do not have the depth of subject expertise needed to teach all subjects effectively.
• Systems to check how well pupils recall curriculum content are in their infancy.
• The school does not consistently check the impact of its actions on improvement.
• Quality of education requires improvement.
• Leadership and management require improvement.

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 2023–24 pupils at Elton CofE Primary School attended 83.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.5%). 25.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 14.6%).

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 2023–24, 10.0% of pupils at Elton CofE Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.0%). 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 2023–24 Elton CofE Primary School had 9.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.8). Of its teachers in 2023–24, 50.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 17.1%).

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 2023–24 Elton CofE Primary School received £20,763 and spent £20,725 for each of its 20 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £77,000 (£3,866 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 Matlock · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

What is Elton CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Elton CofE Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Elton CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Elton CofE Primary School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Elton CofE Primary School have?

Elton CofE Primary School has 13 pupils on roll.

What age range does Elton CofE Primary School cover?

Elton CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

Where is Elton CofE Primary School?

Elton CofE Primary School is at Main Street, Elton, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 2BW.