William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School

William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School is a good school across all inspected areas following its first section 5 inspection. Pupils are happy, respectful and benefit from high expectations and well-established routines, so behaviour is good and learning is rarely disrupted. The curriculum is ambitious and logically sequenced, reading and phonics are strong priorities, early years provision is well planned, and personal development is a clear strength through leadership roles, clubs, wider experiences and community projects. Governance and trust oversight are effective, safeguarding is effective, and staff feel supported. The main areas for improvement concern attendance and support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Although the school and trust work rigorously to promote attendance, some pupils are still absent too often and miss important learning. The school identifies pupils with SEND promptly and seeks external advice, but teachers do not consistently use support plans to adapt their teaching, so some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could. The school converted to academy status and joined Embark multi-academy trust in 2022; its predecessor school was judged as requiring improvement. The headteacher took up post in September 2023, and this was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Strengths

• High expectations for achievement and behaviour, including for pupils with SEND
• Well-established routines support pupils to focus on learning
• Pupils are happy, respectful and polite in their relationships
• High-quality pastoral support is available for pupils and parents
• Personal development is prioritised through leadership roles and wider experiences
• The curriculum is ambitious and logically sequenced so pupils revisit key concepts
• Teachers introduce new learning effectively and check what pupils know
• Reading is a priority, with structured phonics and strong support for pupils who struggle
• Early years provision is well planned and develops communication and language
• Governors and trust leaders understand the school and hold leaders to account effectively
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective
• Staff feel leaders consider their workload and well-being

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough and miss important learning
• Learning is not consistently adapted well enough to meet the needs of pupils with SEND
• Some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could because support plans are not used consistently

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 William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.2% 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, 1.6% of pupils at William Rhodes Primary and Nursery 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 William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School had 18.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 25.0% 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, 19.3% of pupils at William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School 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 2024–25 William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School received £9,339 and spent £8,874 for each of its 177 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £221,000 (£1,254 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 Chesterfield · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School is part of Embark Multi Academy Trust, which runs 29 schools. The nearest others:

• Parkside Community School Chesterfield
• Heath Primary School Chesterfield
• The Brigg Infant School Alfreton
• Glebe Junior School Alfreton
• Riddings Junior School Alfreton
• Anthony Gell School Matlock
• Ripley Junior School Ripley
• Waingroves Primary School Ripley
• Aldercar Infant School Nottingham
• Aldercar High School Nottingham

What is William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School is Good, from an inspection in April 2025.

When was William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School was last inspected in April 2025.

How many pupils does William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School have?

William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School has 192 pupils on roll.

What age range does William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School cover?

William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 39% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School?

William Rhodes Primary and Nursery School is at Hunloke Avenue, Boythorpe, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S40 2NR.