Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy

Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy is a caring and orderly school where pupils enjoy attending and feel well cared for. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision are all good, and safeguarding is effective. The school’s support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including its specially resourced provision for pupils with cerebral palsy and other physical impairments, remains a notable strength. Children get off to a strong start in the early years, and the school has made reading a priority. However, the quality of education requires improvement. The school has recently introduced an ambitious curriculum, but it is not yet being implemented consistently well enough. Because the curriculum is new and pupils have gaps from the previous curriculum, some pupils’ knowledge is insecure and sometimes disjointed. Staff do not always have the expertise to adapt the curriculum effectively, and assessment is not used consistently enough to identify and address misconceptions. Pupils who fall behind in phonics and reading do not always catch up quickly enough. The school has a clear sense of what needs to improve, and the new trust has already supported notable improvements. Staff are committed and feel better supported through increased training. Attendance has not been high enough, although it is improving. Pupils’ understanding of fundamental British values and equality is limited, and the school needs to prepare pupils more effectively for life in modern Britain.

Strengths

• Pupils feel well cared for and enjoy attending the school.
• Behaviour and attitudes are good, and the school is calm and orderly.
• Support for pupils with SEND, including the specially resourced provision, is a strength.
• Pupils with SEND are fully included and learn well alongside their peers.
• Children get off to a strong start in the early years.
• The early years curriculum develops children’s speech and language effectively.
• Learning to read is a priority, and the phonics programme is followed consistently.
• Pupils enjoy reading and engage well with the school’s well-chosen texts.
• Leadership and management are good, with a clear sense of what needs to improve.
• The trust has supported leaders to make notable improvements.
• Staff are committed and appreciate improved training opportunities.
• Pupils learn how to keep themselves healthy and safe, including online.
• Pupils are respectful of differences and have a strong sense that people with disabilities should be treated fairly.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Attendance is improving through helpful support and celebration of regular attendance.

Areas for Improvement

• The quality of education requires improvement.
• Staff do not always have the expertise to implement the new curriculum effectively.
• Teaching is sometimes not adapted sufficiently to address gaps in pupils’ prior learning.
• Some pupils’ knowledge is insecure and sometimes disjointed.
• Assessment and checks on pupils’ learning are not consistently effective.
• Misconceptions and gaps in pupils’ knowledge are sometimes not identified and addressed.
• Pupils who fall behind in phonics and reading do not catch up quickly enough.
• Extra help for pupils who fall behind in reading is sometimes not effective or sufficient.
• Pupils’ understanding of fundamental British values and equality is limited.
• Attendance has not been high enough, although it is improving.

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 Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.6% 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, 3.5% of pupils at Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy 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 Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy had 16.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 15.9% 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, 14.1% of pupils at Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.2% 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 2023–24 Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy received £7,962 and spent £8,568 for each of its 276 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £156,000 (£567 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Minerva Learning Trust, income was £7,256 and spending £7,603 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 Chesterfield · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy is part of Minerva Learning Trust, which runs 10 schools. The nearest others:

• Whittington Moor Nursery and Infant Academy Chesterfield
• Barrow Hill Primary Academy Chesterfield
• Netherthorpe School Chesterfield
• Woodthorpe Primary School Sheffield
• High Storrs School Sheffield
• Handsworth Grange Community Sports College Sheffield
• Chapeltown Academy Sheffield
• Ecclesfield School Sheffield
• Stocksbridge High School Sheffield

What is Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy have?

Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy has 227 pupils on roll.

What age range does Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy cover?

Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 31% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy?

Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy is at Dunston Lane, Newbold, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 8EY.