St George's CofE Primary School

St George's CofE Primary School is a kind, nurturing school where pupils, including those with SEND, feel safe and happy. Inspectors found the school performing well across all judged areas, with strong behaviour, a broad personal development offer, effective safeguarding, and positive relationships with parents. The school has high expectations for pupils, and leaders have taken swift action to improve the curriculum since significant leadership changes in September 2024. The school is part of Derby Diocesan Academy Trust and has an executive headteacher responsible for this school and one other. Reading is a notable strength: children begin phonics in Reception, pupils read books matched to their sounds, and those who fall behind receive targeted support. Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well in most cases. Attendance is a high priority, with rigorous analysis helping reduce persistent absence. Pupils benefit from clubs, leadership roles, trips and experiences that prepare them for life in modern Britain, and staff value the school's consideration of workload and wellbeing. The main areas for improvement concern curriculum implementation and assessment. In a small number of subjects, what pupils experience does not consistently match the school's ambition, and checks on pupils' knowledge are not always effective enough to catch gaps and misconceptions. Leaders also do not yet have a secure enough understanding of how well pupils are learning across some subjects, which limits timely improvement. Overall, the school has clear strengths and is taking appropriate action, but these curriculum and assessment issues need further work.

Strengths

• Kind and nurturing ethos with pupils who feel safe and happy
• Pupils are polite, respectful and understand equality
• Calm behaviour and rare disruption to learning
• Strong early reading and phonics provision with targeted catch-up
• Swift identification of SEND and effective specialist liaison
• Rigorous attendance analysis reducing persistent absence
• Broad extra-curricular offer and pupil leadership opportunities
• Personal development curriculum promotes diversity and local heritage
• Staff workload and wellbeing are carefully considered
• Governance provides effective challenge and support
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is variable in a small number of subjects
• Assessment approaches in some refined subjects are not yet secure
• Teachers do not always identify misconceptions and prior-learning gaps quickly enough
• Leaders do not have a secure enough understanding of pupil learning across some subjects
• Pupils' academic achievement does not consistently reflect the school's high expectations

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 George's CofE Primary School attended 94.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.3% 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, 0.0% of pupils at St George's 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 St George's CofE Primary School had 18.8 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, 8.1% of pupils at St George's CofE Primary School 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 2024–25 St George's CofE Primary School received £9,235 and spent £8,473 for each of its 90 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £114,000 (£1,276 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 High Peak · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

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

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

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

The latest Ofsted rating for St George's CofE Primary School is Good, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was St George's CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St George's CofE Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does St George's CofE Primary School have?

St George's CofE Primary School has 86 pupils on roll.

What age range does St George's CofE Primary School cover?

St George's CofE Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St George's CofE Primary School?

St George's CofE Primary School is at Church Lane, New Mills, High Peak, Derbyshire, SK22 4NP.