Yelvertoft Primary School

Yelvertoft Primary School is a small, caring village primary where pupils feel safe, behave well and benefit from strong pastoral support. Attendance is a high priority and remains strong for many pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Early years provision is effective, inclusion is a clear strength, and personal development and wellbeing are central to the school’s work, with pupils accessing a wide range of clubs, visits, performances and other enrichment opportunities. Safeguarding standards are met. However, achievement is not consistent across the school or across subjects. National test outcomes at the end of key stage 2 are below national averages in some areas, particularly mathematics, and writing is a weakness, with some pupils repeating errors in handwriting, spelling, punctuation and sentence construction. Teaching and curriculum delivery vary between classes, assessment is not used consistently to identify gaps or deepen understanding, and some activities do not build knowledge securely over time. Leaders and governors do not evaluate the impact of improvement work precisely enough, and governors do not challenge leaders strongly enough about how curriculum changes affect pupils’ progress. The inspection identified two main next steps: ensure pupils are sufficiently challenged so that more reach higher standards, particularly in reading and writing, and improve the consistency of teaching across classes so that the strongest practice becomes typical. The school is well placed in terms of care, inclusion and behaviour, but improving the consistency and impact of teaching and leadership evaluation is the key priority.

Strengths

• Attendance is a high priority and remains strong for many pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Pupils generally behave well, show positive attitudes to learning and treat others with respect.
• Early years provision is caring and stimulating, with effective teaching and good progress from children’s starting points.
• Inclusion is a strength, with early identification of needs and effective support for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Personal development and wellbeing are at the heart of the school’s work.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, music, sports, performances, residential visits and cultural activities.
• Safeguarding standards are met, and pupils say they feel safe and trust staff.
• Staff speak positively about leadership support, professional development and consideration for workload and wellbeing.
• Governors meet their statutory duties, take safeguarding seriously and bring valuable expertise to their roles.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement is inconsistent across the school and across subjects.
• Pupils’ achievement in national tests at the end of key stage 2 is below national averages in some areas, including mathematics.
• Writing is a weakness, with some pupils making repeated errors in handwriting, spelling, punctuation and sentence construction.
• Teaching and curriculum delivery are not consistent across classes.
• Teachers do not use assessment information consistently to identify gaps, address misconceptions or deepen understanding.
• Some activities do not build knowledge and skills in a clear enough sequence.
• Feedback does not always give pupils clear guidance about how to improve their work.
• Leaders and governors do not evaluate the impact of improvement work precisely enough.
• Governors do not challenge leaders strongly enough about the impact of curriculum changes on pupils’ progress and achievement.
• Leaders do not evaluate participation and impact in enough detail across different groups in personal development.
• Disadvantaged pupils’ combined outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics are well below national averages.
• Pupils are not consistently challenged enough for more to reach higher standards, particularly in reading and writing.

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 Yelvertoft Primary School attended 94.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.3% 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, 2.1% of pupils at Yelvertoft 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 Yelvertoft Primary School had 19.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% 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, 9.5% of pupils at Yelvertoft Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.1% 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 Yelvertoft Primary School received £6,904 and spent £7,306 for each of its 95 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £19,000 (£202 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).

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What is Yelvertoft Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Yelvertoft Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Yelvertoft Primary School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Yelvertoft Primary School have?

Yelvertoft Primary School has 95 pupils on roll.

What age range does Yelvertoft Primary School cover?

Yelvertoft Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Yelvertoft Primary School?

Yelvertoft Primary School is at School Lane, Yelvertoft, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN6 6LH.