St Giles CofE Primary School

St Giles CofE Primary School is a welcoming, nurturing Church of England primary school operating within Derby Diocesan Academy Trust. This full inspection found the school performing at the expected standard across all evaluated areas, with safeguarding standards met. Pupils are happy, safe and feel a strong sense of belonging; behaviour is typically calm and respectful, and attendance has improved to close to the national average, including for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. Leaders have a clear, shared vision, place inclusion at the heart of their work, and provide strong pastoral support tailored to pupils and families. The school's main strengths include improving attainment in phonics, writing and multiplication, effective support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, and a strong early years provision that develops communication, language and reading well. The curriculum is broad and balanced, and pupils benefit from personal development opportunities, leadership roles and extra-curricular activities. Leaders, governors and trustees work effectively together, and staff feel well supported. The school serves a community with well-above-average location deprivation and a higher-than-average proportion of disadvantaged pupils. There are still areas to improve. Classroom practice does not consistently meet the needs of different learners in mixed-age classes, and some pupils do not consistently receive highly ambitious learning activities. Assessment in wider curriculum subjects is less developed, so teachers cannot always check understanding and close gaps reliably. Pupils' understanding of faiths beyond Christianity is limited. Leaders are aware of these priorities and their improvement work is already having a positive impact on outcomes.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, safe and feel valued in a welcoming, nurturing school where everyone is included.
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture and concerns actively managed.
• Attainment is improving in phonics, writing and multiplication, including for disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils with SEND progress well from their starting points and receive timely, helpful support.
• Inclusion is central to leaders' work, with tailored support for disadvantaged pupils and families.
• Attendance has improved and is close to national average; persistent absence has been reduced.
• Behaviour is typically positive, calm and respectful, and pupils say bullying is rare and dealt with effectively.
• Early years provision is strong, with effective focus on vocabulary, speaking, reading and a progressive curriculum.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced, with clear focus on important knowledge and skills.
• Pastoral support is a notable strength, with well-matched intervention and nurture.
• Leadership and governance are effective, with a clear shared vision and supportive professional development.
• Personal development opportunities, leadership roles and extra-curricular activities are enjoyed by pupils.
• Parents value the school and leaders have built trust and confidence in the community.

Areas for Improvement

• Classroom practice does not consistently meet the needs of different learners in mixed-age classes.
• Some pupils do not consistently benefit from highly ambitious learning activities, limiting their opportunities to achieve even better outcomes.
• Assessment in wider curriculum subjects is less well developed, so gaps in pupils' knowledge are not always addressed effectively.
• Pupils' understanding of faiths and religions beyond Christianity is limited.

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 St Giles CofE Primary School attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.5% 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, 2.2% of pupils at St Giles CofE Primary 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 St Giles CofE Primary School had 21.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.7% 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, 9.0% of pupils at St Giles CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.2% 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 2024–25 St Giles CofE Primary School received £2,411 and spent £2,424 for each of its 322 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £144,000 (£448 per pupil).

Across all 33 schools of Derby Diocesan Academy Trust, income was £7,661 and spending £7,414 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 North East Derbyshire · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

St Giles CofE Primary School is part of Derby Diocesan Academy Trust, which runs 33 schools. The nearest others:

• Woodthorpe CofE Primary School Chesterfield
• Bolsover Church of England Junior School Chesterfield
• Newbold CofE Primary School Chesterfield
• Christ Church CofE Primary School Chesterfield
• All Saints CofE Junior School Matlock
• All Saints CofE Infant School Matlock
• Darley Churchtown Church of England Primary School Matlock
• St Giles Church of England Primary and Nursery School Matlock
• Bakewell CofE Infant School Bakewell
• Bishop Pursglove CofE (A) Primary School Buxton

What is St Giles CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Giles CofE Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was St Giles CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Giles CofE Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does St Giles CofE Primary School have?

St Giles CofE Primary School has 310 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Giles CofE Primary School cover?

St Giles CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Giles CofE Primary School?

St Giles CofE Primary School is at Sheepcote Road, Killamarsh, Derbyshire, South Yorkshire, S21 1DU.