Elkesley Primary and Nursery School

Elkesley Primary and Nursery School is a small community school that is strongly valued by pupils and families and sits at the centre of village life. Inspectors found a caring, ambitious school where pupils feel safe and happy, behave well, and are well supported, including pupils with SEND. Reading is a whole-school priority and achievement in phonics is strong, while early years children get a good start and personal development is well taught. The school has high expectations and has made positive changes, including a new curriculum. Most subjects are clearly planned and pupils make strong progress, but a few subjects are at an earlier stage, with key and disciplinary knowledge not defined clearly enough, leading to inconsistent implementation and knowledge that does not always stick. Attendance, although improving, remains a priority because some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, do not attend regularly enough. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and a graded inspection under the current framework, so no overall effectiveness grade was given. Leadership, governance and staff development are strong, safeguarding is effective, and staff are exceptionally proud to work at the school.

Strengths

• Strong caring community at the centre of village life
• Pupils are welcoming, happy, resilient and compassionate
• High expectations and calm, collaborative behaviour
• Expert support for pupils with SEND
• Reading is a whole-school priority with a strong phonics curriculum
• Early years provides a good start and prepares children well
• Well-sequenced personal, social and health education
• Effective governance and strong staff development
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• A few subjects have less clearly defined key and disciplinary knowledge
• Curriculum implementation is inconsistent in some subjects
• Some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, attend too irregularly

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 Elkesley Primary and Nursery School attended 94.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 8.2% 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 Elkesley Primary and Nursery 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 Elkesley Primary and Nursery School had 20.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.1% 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, 18.4% of pupils at Elkesley Primary and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.9% 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 Elkesley Primary and Nursery School received £8,654 and spent £8,683 for each of its 102 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £186,000 (£1,832 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 Retford · Nottinghamshire local authority: places and applications

What is Elkesley Primary and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Elkesley Primary and Nursery School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Elkesley Primary and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

Elkesley Primary and Nursery School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Elkesley Primary and Nursery School have?

Elkesley Primary and Nursery School has 103 pupils on roll.

What age range does Elkesley Primary and Nursery School cover?

Elkesley Primary and Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Elkesley Primary and Nursery School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 30% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Elkesley Primary and Nursery School?

Elkesley Primary and Nursery School is at Headland Avenue, Elkesley, Retford, Nottinghamshire, DN22 8AQ.