Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School

Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School is a Transform Trust academy that converted in 2022 after its predecessor was judged inadequate. It serves a community with well-above-average levels of disadvantage and special educational needs support. Inspectors found safeguarding effective and saw clear improvements in behaviour, attendance, early years provision, personal development and support for pupils with SEND. However, the school still requires significant improvement because pupils' achievement remains too low, especially by the end of key stage 2 and for disadvantaged pupils. The school's strengths are substantial in several areas. Leaders have created a positive, respectful culture in which pupils behave well and feel safe. Attendance is improving, persistent absence has fallen, and the early years curriculum responds well to children's low starting points. Personal development is well rounded, enrichment and pupil leadership opportunities are strong, and pupils with SEND are well supported, including through the Treehouse provision. Staff feel well supported, and the school works closely with parents. The main concerns are academic. Pupils' attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2 is significantly below national averages, and disadvantaged pupils' attainment is much lower than disadvantaged pupils nationally, with the gap widening in 2025. Pupils' gaps in foundational knowledge are not closed quickly enough, and mistakes in spelling, handwriting and sentence construction are often repeated. Recent curriculum changes and the pupil premium strategy are at an early stage, some staff are unsure how best to support disadvantaged pupils, and governance lacks precise oversight of work to improve outcomes. Attendance, while improving, remains above the national average.

Strengths

• Safeguarding arrangements are effective and pupils feel safe.
• Leaders have created a positive, respectful culture with calm and orderly behaviour.
• Pupils are polite, courteous and respond well to staff.
• Attendance is improving, with persistent absence falling and rates back to pre-COVID levels.
• The early years curriculum is well designed and responds to children's low starting points.
• Early years staff use warm interactions and rich dialogue to develop language.
• Reception phonics and early writing are taught well.
• Personal development provision is well rounded and covers safety, relationships and financial management.
• School values underpin character education and pupils show empathy and integrity.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well, including through the Treehouse.
• Enrichment and leadership opportunities are wide ranging and well accessed by disadvantaged and SEND pupils.
• Staff benefit from professional development and feel well supported with workload and wellbeing.
• The school works closely with parents and carers, and many praise recent improvements.
• Leaders have improved early years and behaviour and established effective pastoral support.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' achievement is too low, especially at the end of key stage 2.
• Most pupils do not reach the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics by Year 6.
• Attainment in key stage 2 reading, writing and mathematics is significantly below national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils' attainment is much lower than disadvantaged pupils nationally, and the gap widened in 2025.
• Pupils with gaps in foundational knowledge are not helped to catch up quickly enough.
• Many pupils repeat mistakes in spelling, handwriting and simple sentence construction.
• Staff do not identify and resolve pupils' errors swiftly or effectively.
• The pupil premium plan does not address disadvantaged pupils' gaps in reading, writing and mathematics well enough.
• Some staff are unsure about disadvantaged pupils' needs and how to support them.
• Recent curriculum changes in English and mathematics are at an early stage and not yet embedded.
• Pupils do not remember important prior learning across the curriculum, including in science and history.
• Governance lacks precise oversight of work to close gaps and improve outcomes.
• Attendance remains above the national average, although improving.
• Too many key stage 2 pupils lack foundational knowledge.

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 Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School attended 92.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 25.1% 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, 0.7% of pupils at Brierley Forest 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 Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School had 19.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.7% 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, 32.6% of pupils at Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School received £6,949 and spent £7,423 for each of its 272 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £353,000 (£1,299 per pupil).

Across all 26 schools of Transform Trust, income was £7,034 and spending £7,060 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 Sutton-In-Ashfield · Nottinghamshire local authority: places and applications

Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School is part of Transform Trust, which runs 27 schools. The nearest others:

• Woodland View Primary and Nursery School Sutton-In-Ashfield
• Abbey Hill Primary & Nursery Nottingham
• Sutton Road Primary School Mansfield
• King Edward Primary School & Nursery Mansfield
• Holgate Primary and Nursery School Hucknall
• Bulwell St Mary's Primary and Nursery School Nottingham
• Heage Primary School Belper
• Cantrell Primary and Nursery School Nottingham
• Rosslyn Park Primary and Nursery School Nottingham
• Burford Primary and Nursery School Nottingham

What is Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School is Urgent improvement, from an inspection in February 2026.

When was Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School last inspected by Ofsted?

Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School was last inspected in February 2026.

How many pupils does Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School have?

Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School has 258 pupils on roll.

What age range does Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School cover?

Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 20% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School?

Brierley Forest Primary and Nursery School is at Westbourne View, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, NG17 2HT.