Costock CofE Primary School

Costock CofE Primary School is a small Church of England primary that inspectors found to be performing well across the inspected areas. Pupils are happy, safe and respectful, and the school has a strong caring, family ethos. The curriculum is ambitious and well ordered, pupils with SEND are identified accurately and supported effectively, and personal development is a clear strength, with opportunities such as gardening and learning about equalities. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement are in reading and self-evaluation. Phonics is taught effectively overall, but delivery is not consistently strong enough: staff do not always check that pupils’ sound knowledge is secure, and misconceptions are not always addressed quickly, so some pupils do not become confident readers as quickly as they should. The school’s evaluation of its improvement work is also not sharp or rigorous enough, meaning leaders do not always know what is working well and what needs to change. Staff value the consideration given to workload and well-being, although leading multiple subjects can make this challenging. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remains a good school. Under the current inspection framework, no overall effectiveness grade was given.

Strengths

• Strong caring, family ethos where pupils feel happy, safe and respected
• Ambitious, well-ordered curriculum with opportunities to review and connect knowledge
• Precise questioning and clear explanations deepen pupils’ understanding and vocabulary
• Accurate identification of SEND and tailored teaching help pupils with SEND achieve well
• Effective phonics programme and a strong love of reading
• Pupils have positive attitudes, embrace mistakes and reflect on their learning
• Early years staff build warm relationships and use effective modelling
• Personal development is central, with quality opportunities such as gardening and equalities learning
• Governors understand their role and support the school well
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Phonics delivery is inconsistent, with some pupils’ misconceptions not addressed quickly enough
• Some pupils do not develop reading accuracy and fluency as quickly as they should
• The school’s evaluation of improvement work is not sharply focused or rigorously followed up
• Leaders do not always understand what is working well and what needs to change
• Staff often lead curriculum in multiple subjects, which can challenge workload and well-being

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 Costock CofE Primary School attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.0% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Costock CofE 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 Costock CofE Primary School had 17.6 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, 12.6% of pupils at Costock CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% 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 Costock CofE Primary School received £7,434 and spent £7,760 for each of its 95 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £5,000 (£54 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 Loughborough · Nottinghamshire local authority: places and applications

What is Costock CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Costock CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Costock CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Costock CofE Primary School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Costock CofE Primary School have?

Costock CofE Primary School has 95 pupils on roll.

What age range does Costock CofE Primary School cover?

Costock CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 36% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Costock CofE Primary School?

Costock CofE Primary School is at Main Street, Costock, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE12 6XD.