Richardson Endowed Primary School

Richardson Endowed Primary School is a caring and inclusive school where pupils enjoy attending, behave well and respond positively to high expectations. Inspectors found the school performing well across the curriculum, behaviour, personal development, leadership and early years. Staff know pupils well, safeguarding is effective, and pupils trust adults to keep them safe and resolve problems fairly. The school has redesigned its curriculum so that important knowledge and vocabulary are clearly identified and sequenced, and reading is a strong priority from the early years upwards.

Strengths

• Caring staff know pupils well and pupils trust them to keep them safe.
• Pupils behave well and display positive attitudes to learning.
• High expectations and routines begin in the early years.
• The curriculum has been redesigned with clear knowledge and vocabulary sequenced across subjects.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well to work independently.
• Phonics is taught consistently well and reading is a priority.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and check pupils' understanding effectively.
• Early years provision offers a rich, engaging environment that develops children's curiosity and skills.
• Personal development prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain, including health, safety and online safety.
• The inclusive culture is underpinned by a strong shared vision and effective trust and governance support.
• A wide range of clubs and activities nurtures pupils' wider interests.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, the work pupils are expected to complete is not ambitious enough.
• Pupils are sometimes not challenged sufficiently to think deeply and deepen their understanding.
• Opportunities to stretch pupils' thinking are inconsistent across the curriculum, which can limit achievement.

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 Richardson Endowed Primary School attended 95.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 9.2% 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, 2.7% of pupils at Richardson Endowed 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 Richardson Endowed Primary School had 19.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.3% 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, 16.8% of pupils at Richardson Endowed Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.7% 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 Richardson Endowed Primary School received £8,195 and spent £7,168 for each of its 188 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £130,000 (£693 per pupil).

Across all 21 schools of Embark Multi Academy Trust, income was £8,703 and spending £7,965 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 Ilkeston · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

Richardson Endowed Primary School is part of Embark Multi Academy Trust, which runs 29 schools. The nearest others:

• Horsley Woodhouse Primary School Ilkeston
• Howitt Primary Community School Heanor
• Kilburn Junior School Belper
• Aldercar High School Nottingham
• Aldercar Infant School Nottingham
• Waingroves Primary School Ripley
• Ripley Junior School Ripley
• Ladywood Primary School Ilkeston
• Chaucer Junior School Ilkeston
• Chaucer Infant School Ilkeston

What is Richardson Endowed Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Richardson Endowed Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Richardson Endowed Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Richardson Endowed Primary School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Richardson Endowed Primary School have?

Richardson Endowed Primary School has 184 pupils on roll.

What age range does Richardson Endowed Primary School cover?

Richardson Endowed Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

What are Richardson Endowed Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 50% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Richardson Endowed Primary School?

Richardson Endowed Primary School is at Main Road, Smalley, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 6EF.