Carsington and Hopton Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. Pupils make good progress in Key Stages 1 and 2. The headteacher and other leaders and managers, including the governors, have ensured that teaching is good and the curriculum is interesting.

As a result, achievement is good. Children in Reception achieve exceptionally well because activities are very well matched to their interests and needs and promote excellent learning and development. Standards vary over time in the very small cohorts.

They are average overall and increasing as teaching strengthens. Pupils' behaviour is good in lessons and round the school. Pupils feel safe and secure because the school looks after them well.
...r/>The pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted very well through the school's positive atmosphere and its teaching. The school is led very strongly and with a very clear focus by the headteacher. His strategies have been carefully considered, resulting in improvements in many areas of the school's work.

The school continues to improve. The governing body is able to support and challenge the school, and regularly does so. Governors know that teaching and the achievement of pupils have improved, and where the school can improve further.

It is not yet an outstanding school because : Pupils do not have enough regular and carefully planned opportunities to develop their literacy and numeracy skills through other learning. Some year groups do not have enough chances to practise their grammatical skills through writing regularly at length. The most able pupils do not consistently reach their full potential because work is sometimes not sufficiently challenging and does not ensure they can apply the skills they know, in solving problems.

Information about this school

The school is much smaller than other primary schools. The number on roll continues to fall. This means that in some year groups there are very few pupils.

The pupils are taught in two mixed-age, mixed-ability classes, comprising Reception and Key Stage 1 pupils in one class and Key Stage 2 pupils in the other class. Reception pupils attend full-time. No pupil is educated off site.

All pupils are of White British heritage and speak English as their first language. The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is currently less than one in ten, which is broadly average. The pupil premium provides support for 6% of the pupils in the school.

This is below the national average. The pupil-premium funding is additional funding for disadvantaged pupils, including those who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children that are looked after by the local authority. The school is part of the Anthony Gell cluster of schools.

It shares a headteacher with Kirk Ireton Primary School with whom it works closely to strengthen teaching, the curriculum and leadership and management. The headteacher spends an equal time at both schools. The headteacher is a local leader of education.

He is not offering any support at present. There have been several changes in staffing over the last two years. Staffing is now stable.