Cottons Farm Primary Academy

Cottons Farm Primary Academy has improved markedly since its previous inspection and is now judged good across all key areas. Inspectors found a culturally rich, inclusive and welcoming school where pupils feel happy, safe and known extremely well. Behaviour is excellent, attendance has improved, and pupils are polite, calm and ready to learn. The curriculum is now well designed and focused on the knowledge pupils need, with reading a top priority and language development an emerging strength. The early years provision gives children a strong and nurturing start, and the school’s work with families and the wider community is a particular strength. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school is highly ambitious for pupils, including those who arrive mid-year, are new to the country or have limited English. Pupils make strong progress through the curriculum, although complex starting points mean national test standards are not always reached. Teaching is consistently effective in most subjects but not yet in all. In a few subjects, vocabulary sequencing and checks on pupils’ learning are not fully embedded, which can allow gaps to remain. Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is not consistently strong, and some pupils with SEND do not gain all the knowledge and understanding they could from the ambitious curriculum. Trustees know the school well and have provided appropriate oversight, while staff feel well supported and are proud of the school and its community. The report highlights clear improvements in behaviour, personal development, early years and leadership, with the main remaining priorities being greater curriculum consistency and stronger, more ambitious adaptation for pupils with SEND.

Strengths

• A wonderfully open, positive culture of care and respect where pupils feel happy and safe
• Pupils behave extremely well and are polite to adults and each other
• The school is highly ambitious for pupils, including those with complex starting points
• The curriculum is well designed and focused on the knowledge pupils need
• Reading is a top priority, with consistently well-taught phonics and strong support to keep up
• Pupils’ language knowledge and oracy are an emerging strength, especially for pupils with English as an additional language
• Staff promptly identify pupils with SEND and use many well-considered lesson adaptations
• Children make a wonderful start in early years within an ambitious, nurturing and inclusive environment
• Attendance has improved and pupils arrive promptly and settle quickly to learning
• The school is an incredibly rich and inclusive community that celebrates different cultures and faiths
• Personal, social and health education is carefully planned to help pupils stay happy and safe
• The school works particularly strongly with parents, carers and the community
• Trustees know the school and have taken effective action to improve it
• Staff are proud of the school, feel well supported and have worked with great dedication

Areas for Improvement

• Some parts of the curriculum are not as carefully planned and taught as others
• In a few subjects, key vocabulary sequencing and checks on pupils’ learning are not fully embedded
• There are small inconsistencies in the quality of education pupils receive
• Provision for pupils with SEND is not consistently strong
• Some pupils with SEND do not gain the knowledge and understanding of the curriculum that they could
• The curriculum for pupils with SEND needs to be more ambitious and successfully adapted

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 Cottons Farm Primary Academy attended 93.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.4% 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, 1.7% of pupils at Cottons Farm Primary Academy 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 Cottons Farm Primary Academy had 14.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.9% 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, 16.5% of pupils at Cottons Farm Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.8% 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 Cottons Farm Primary Academy received £9,397 and spent £10,672 for each of its 118 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £591,000 (-£5,031 per pupil).

Across all 17 schools of The Harmony Trust Ltd, income was £7,256 and spending £7,263 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 Derby · Derby local authority: places and applications

Cottons Farm Primary Academy is part of The Harmony Trust Ltd, which runs 17 schools. The nearest others:

• Ash Croft Primary Academy Derby
• Village Primary Academy Derby
• Carlyle Infant and Nursery Academy Derby
• Lakeside Primary Academy Derby
• Alvaston Junior Academy Derby
• Reigate Park Primary Academy Derby
• Hackwood Primary Academy Derby
• Cavendish Close Junior Academy Derby
• Greenfield Primary Academy Cheshire
• Alt Academy Oldham

What is Cottons Farm Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cottons Farm Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Cottons Farm Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Cottons Farm Primary Academy was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Cottons Farm Primary Academy have?

Cottons Farm Primary Academy has 133 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cottons Farm Primary Academy cover?

Cottons Farm Primary Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Cottons Farm Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 42% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Cottons Farm Primary Academy?

Cottons Farm Primary Academy is at Sheridan Street, Sinfin, Derby, Derbyshire, DE24 9HG.