Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School

Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School has shown considerable improvement since its previous inspection, moving from a grade of Requires Improvement to Good. Overall, pupils enjoy attending the school and feel well-supported by staff who are dedicated to their learning and well-being. The school promotes a culture of respect and inclusivity, with pupils actively participating in maintaining a positive environment. There is a strong emphasis on safeguarding, ensuring that pupils feel safe and well-cared for both socially and academically.

Strengths

• Pupils express pride in their school and feel that staff go above and beyond for their learning.
• The behaviour of pupils is commendable, demonstrating politeness and respect towards each other and adults.
• The school curriculum is well-planned, ambitious, and sequenced across most subjects, accommodating varied learning needs.
• Effective phonics instruction helps pupils develop strong reading skills.
• Support for pupils with SEND is tailored and promptly addressed.
• Pupils engage in a range of extracurricular activities that enhance their personal development.
• Leaders and governors are proactive in driving improvements and ensuring a positive educational environment.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects lack clarity in the essential content pupils need to know and remember.
• The reading curriculum beyond phonics is not fully sequenced, leading to uncertainties about content delivery.
• Senior leaders have not thoroughly monitored the implementation of the early years curriculum.

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 Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School attended 93.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.5% 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, 1.8% of pupils at Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School had 18.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.7% 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, 16.6% of pupils at Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.6% 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 Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School received £7,719 and spent £8,120 for each of its 302 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £97,000 (-£321 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 Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School is Good, from an inspection in June 2022.

When was Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School was last inspected in June 2022.

How many pupils does Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School have?

Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School has 308 pupils on roll.

What age range does Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School cover?

Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 21% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School?

Carr Hill Primary and Nursery School is at Tiln Lane, Carr Hill Primary School, Retford, Nottinghamshire, DN22 6SW.