St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock

St Denys Church of England Infant School is a happy, welcoming and nurturing school where pupils flourish and staff know each child well. Inspectors found the school performing well across the board, with calm and productive behaviour, strong personal development and effective safeguarding. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and a new headteacher has been appointed since the previous inspection. The school prioritises reading from the start, with expert phonics teaching, strong parental engagement and swift support that help pupils become fluent readers. The curriculum has been revamped to be ambitious and well sequenced, and teachers generally explain and model subject knowledge effectively. Pupils benefit from trips, visitors, clubs and citizenship activities, and provision for their mental and physical health and understanding of modern Britain is strong. Governance has improved, and staff feel well supported with manageable workload. The main areas for improvement are the precision of learning activities and the consistency of checking pupils’ work. Sometimes activities do not match the intended curriculum closely enough or allow pupils to build detailed knowledge, and checks do not always identify misconceptions or gaps. For some pupils with SEND, activities are not adapted sufficiently, so they rely too heavily on adult support and do not learn as independently as they could.

Strengths

• Happy, welcoming and nurturing school where pupils flourish
• Staff know each child individually and support their confidence
• High expectations for behaviour create a calm, productive atmosphere
• Engaging curriculum enriched by trips, visitors and clubs
• Reading is prioritised from the start with expert phonics teaching
• Strong parental engagement supports phonics and reading at home
• Pupils quickly become fluent readers and apply phonics confidently in writing
• Curriculum is ambitious, well sequenced and reflects pupils’ needs and locality
• Teachers explain and model subject knowledge effectively and develop vocabulary
• Personal development provision strongly promotes mental and physical health
• Pupils learn about British values, equality and inclusion
• Governance has improved and staff feel well supported with manageable workload
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Pupils with SEND are swiftly identified and many are supported effectively
• Specialist resource base staff use skilled approaches to help pupils access learning
• Early years provision helps children follow routines and develop listening skills

Areas for Improvement

• Learning activities sometimes do not match the intended curriculum precisely enough
• Some activities do not allow pupils to develop detailed knowledge
• Checks on pupils’ learning are sometimes not thorough enough to identify misconceptions or insecurities
• Support for some pupils with SEND is not always helpful because activities are not adapted sufficiently
• Some pupils with SEND rely too heavily on adult support and cannot learn with independence

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 St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.0% 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, 1.7% of pupils at St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock 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 St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock had 17.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.5% 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, 6.9% of pupils at St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 11.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has a SEN unit with 7 pupils.

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 St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock received £8,276 and spent £8,636 for each of its 203 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £107,000 (-£529 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 North West Leicestershire · Leicestershire local authority: places and applications

What is St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock last inspected by Ofsted?

St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock have?

St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock has 203 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock cover?

St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock for pupils aged 4 to 7.

Where is St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock?

St Denys Church of England Infant School, Ibstock is at Laud Close, Ibstock, Leicestershire, LE67 6NL.