Orchard Primary School and Nursery

Orchard Primary School and Nursery is a welcoming, nurturing school where pupils feel safe, behave well and attend regularly. This full inspection found safeguarding standards met and the school meeting expected standards across attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, early years, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Achievement is the exception and needs attention. The school has a clear, shared vision and a close-knit, well-supported staff team; governors are diligent and improvement work is measured and manageable. Strengths include strong early years provision, including the recently introduced 2-year-old nursery, effective phonics and reading, positive behaviour, and a broad personal development programme that promotes wellbeing, enrichment and inclusive attitudes. Pupils are proud of their school and benefit from positive relationships, effective pastoral support and a curriculum that is generally well designed. The main concern is that attainment at the end of Year 6 is below national averages and too many pupils are not well prepared for secondary school. Recent work to improve writing is showing early signs, but handwriting inaccuracies persist; mathematics improvements are less embedded and older pupils have gaps. Assessment checks are not consistently rigorous or used to address misconceptions, and some pupils with SEND do not have precise targets, so support does not always build independence. Disadvantaged pupils' gaps also remain, particularly in writing and mathematics.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open culture where concerns are actively identified and managed.
• Pupils feel safe, supported and have a clear sense of belonging.
• Pupils behave well, show respect and cooperate; unkindness and bullying are rare and resolved fairly.
• Attendance strategies have reduced absence, especially for disadvantaged pupils.
• Early years provision is warm, ambitious and effective, including the new 2-year-old nursery provision.
• Reading and phonics are taught effectively, with attainment broadly in line with national averages.
• A new writing curriculum is being introduced well, with improvements beginning to show.
• Leadership and governance are strong, with a clear shared vision and diligent governors.
• Staff feel valued, supported and benefit from effective professional development.
• Personal development and wellbeing are prioritised through rich enrichment and pastoral support.
• Inclusion is a priority, with early identification of barriers and purposeful support for disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils develop respectful, inclusive attitudes and learn about British values and citizenship.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement needs attention: attainment at the end of Year 6 is below national averages and too many pupils are not well prepared for secondary school.
• Mathematics improvements are still being embedded and some older pupils have gaps that hinder secure understanding.
• Writing attainment remains below national averages and some inaccuracies in handwriting persist.
• Teachers' checks on pupils' learning sometimes lack rigour and do not consistently inform future teaching or address misconceptions.
• Some pupils with SEND do not have precise targets, and support does not consistently enable them to progress well and learn independently.
• Disadvantaged pupils' attainment gaps remain, particularly in writing and mathematics.
• Pupils' understanding of different religions is limited.
• Recent improvements in mathematics and writing are not yet fully realised in pupils' achievement.
• Teachers sometimes adapt activities when gaps exist rather than addressing the gaps in prior learning swiftly.

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 Orchard Primary School and Nursery attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.2% 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, 0.6% of pupils at Orchard Primary School and Nursery 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 Orchard Primary School and Nursery had 21.2 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, 29.4% of pupils at Orchard Primary School and Nursery were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.3% 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 Orchard Primary School and Nursery received £6,989 and spent £7,096 for each of its 336 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £37,000 (£110 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 Orchard Primary School and Nursery's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Orchard Primary School and Nursery is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

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

Orchard Primary School and Nursery was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Orchard Primary School and Nursery have?

Orchard Primary School and Nursery has 344 pupils on roll.

What age range does Orchard Primary School and Nursery cover?

Orchard Primary School and Nursery for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 56% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Orchard Primary School and Nursery?

Orchard Primary School and Nursery is at Chapel Street, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG17 8JY.