The Pochin School

The Pochin School is a warm, caring primary school where pupils are happy, safe and achieve well. Inspectors found good provision across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years. This was the school's first routine inspection since the pandemic and since it had previously been exempt as outstanding; it is now part of Bradgate Education Partnership and has a relatively new substantive headteacher. Notable strengths include a strong reading culture with well-established phonics, effective support for pupils with SEND, positive pupil behaviour, and a rich personal development programme with leadership roles, clubs, trips and cultural experiences. Safeguarding is effective, and governors and trustees are effective in their roles. Parents value the care and support the school provides. The main areas for improvement concern the depth of learning in some subjects and in early years, where curriculums do not always stretch and deepen pupils' knowledge sufficiently. Checks on pupils' understanding are not always accurate enough, meaning learning is sometimes moved on before pupils are ready or while misconceptions and gaps remain. As a result, pupils do not always achieve as highly as they could.

Strengths

• Warm, caring and inclusive culture where pupils feel happy and safe
• Ambitious curriculum with well-considered subject plans and opportunities to revisit knowledge
• Strong reading provision, including well-established phonics and effective support for pupils who find reading difficult
• Effective identification and support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Positive pupil behaviour and respectful, courteous relationships
• Rich personal development offering leadership roles, clubs, trips and cultural experiences
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Effective governors and trustees who understand their duties and support staff well-being

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, the curriculum does not consistently provide enough opportunity for pupils to deepen their knowledge and understanding
• The early years curriculum does not always stretch and deepen children's knowledge sufficiently
• Checks on pupils' understanding are not always accurate enough to identify what pupils know and can do
• Learning is sometimes moved on before pupils are ready or while misconceptions and gaps in understanding remain
• Pupils do not always achieve as highly as they could because next steps for learning are not always well matched

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 The Pochin School attended 97.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.3% 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, 0.7% of pupils at The Pochin 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 The Pochin School had 24.8 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, 9.4% of pupils at The Pochin School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.5% 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 2024–25 The Pochin School received £8,342 and spent £8,735 for each of its 137 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £89,000 (£649 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of Bradgate Education Partnership, income was £7,352 and spending £7,630 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Leicester · Leicestershire local authority: places and applications

The Pochin School is part of Bradgate Education Partnership, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• The Merton Primary School Leicester
• Eastfield Primary School Leicester
• Church Hill Infant School Leicester
• The Roundhill Academy Leicester
• Wreake Valley Academy Leicester
• Broomfield Community Primary School Leicester
• Gaddesby Primary School Leicester
• Highgate Primary School Loughborough
• Seagrave Village Primary School Loughborough
• Great Dalby School Melton Mowbray

What is The Pochin School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Pochin School is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was The Pochin School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Pochin School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does The Pochin School have?

The Pochin School has 160 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Pochin School cover?

The Pochin School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are The Pochin School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Pochin School?

The Pochin School is at School Lane, Barkby, The Pochin School, Leicester, Leicestershire, LE7 3QL.