Ofsted: Requires improvement trending_up Places Available emoji_events #218 in Derbyshire public Top 97% UK

Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

personMrs Louise Parker

corporate_fareCAVENDISH LEARNING TRUST

location_onChesterfield, S41 8EY

language Visit Website phone 1246450601

verified

Ofsted

Requires improvement

Inspected 2025

groups

Students

298

school

Expected Standard

31%

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Demand Ratio

1.0x

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Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy is a Academy sponsor led primary school in Chesterfield, serving ages 3-11. Currently Requires Improvement according to Ofsted — the school is working to raise standards. Ranks in the top 97% of primary schools nationally.

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School Summary

Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy is an academy sponsor led in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, admitting pupils aged 3-11. It is part of CAVENDISH LEARNING TRUST. The school has approximately 255 pupils on roll, of whom 60% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2025, 31% of pupils met the expected standard in Reading, Writing and Maths combined, with 9% achieving the higher standard. The school ranks #218 of 246 primaries in Derbyshire and #13,171 of 14,143 nationally.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2025. The school's current overall rating is Requires improvement. Inspectors assessed quality of education as Requires improvement, behaviour and attitudes Good, personal development Good, and leadership and management Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 1.0× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 16.6:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 2.0 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

school

Primary Performance Trends (KS2)

2025

R/W/M Expected Standard

31%

LA 58%

Reading49% LA 73%

Writing57% LA 69%

Maths51% LA 71%

Read SS

100

Maths SS

101

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2024

R/W/M Expected Standard

40%

LA 57%England 61%

Reading56% LA 73% · Eng 74%

Writing70% LA 68% · Eng 72%

Maths63% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Read SS

101

Maths SS

101

GPS SS

100

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

Write

Maths

2023

R/W/M Expected Standard

44%

LA 58%England 60%

Reading53% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing59% LA 69% · Eng 71%

Maths59% LA 71% · Eng 73%

Read SS

101

Maths SS

100

GPS SS

100

Progress (0 = national avg)

-4.3

Read

LA -0.2

-6.4 to -2.1

-2.3

Write

LA -0.2

-4.4 to -0.2

-4.3

Maths

LA -0.4

-6.3 to -2.2

2019

R/W/M Expected Standard

68%

LA 63%England 65%

Reading71% LA 72% · Eng 73%

Writing77% LA 77% · Eng 78%

Maths77% LA 77% · Eng 79%

Read SS

103

Maths SS

104

GPS SS

106

Progress (0 = national avg)

-0.9

Read

LA -0.5

-3.2 to 1.4

2.3

Write

LA -0.2

0.2 to 4.3

-1.1

Maths

LA -0.9

-3.0 to 0.9

2018

R/W/M Expected Standard

LA 63%

Reading-% LA 76%

Writing-% LA 78%

Maths-% LA 73%

Read SS

Maths SS

GPS SS

Progress (0 = national avg)

Read

LA -0.7

Write

LA -0.5

Maths

LA -1.2

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

18 March 2025

Inspection Report

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22 June 2022

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

4 Evaluations

2025-03-18

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 EIF

Not Judged

info

Why no overall grade?

From autumn 2024, Ofsted stopped issuing a single headline grade (Outstanding / Good / RI / Inadequate). Instead, each inspection area is graded individually. This follows a major review after the death of headteacher Ruth Perry in 2023. The overall effectiveness field is left as "Not judged" in the published data.

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2022-06-22

Academy First Section 5 EIF

Requires improvement

Education

Requires improvement

Behaviour

Good

Development

Good

Leadership

Good

2016-05-11

Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 EIF

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

2015-05-07

None EIF

Requires improvement

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Requires improvement

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

2.4%per term

warning Above Average

National average: 0.8% for this term (primary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

2.0%(5 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 1.225% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 255 pupils. During this period, there were 6 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 2.4%, which is above the termly national average of 0.8%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	255	6	2.4%	0.8%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	256	4	1.6%	0.9%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	274	9	3.3%	0.8%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	281	8	2.8%	0.7%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	277	12	4.3%	0.8%	2
2022/23 (Summer term)	295	17	5.8%	0.7%	3
2022/23 (Spring term)	298	11	3.7%	0.6%	3
2022/23 (Autumn term)	303	9	3.0%	0.6%	1
2021/22 (Summer term)	307	4	1.3%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Spring term)	297	3	1.0%	0.5%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	295	2	0.7%	0.5%	0
2020/21 (Summer term)	302	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	294	0	0.0%	0.1%	0
2020/21 (Autumn term)	296	1	0.3%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Summer term)	304	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	304	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2019/20 (Autumn term)	298	0	0.0%	0.6%	0
2018/19 (Summer term)	302	0	0.0%	0.4%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	298	0	0.0%	0.5%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	289	0	0.0%	0.5%	0

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 19 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 10 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 7 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 7 pupils

Physical Disability 5 pupils

Hearing Impairment 4 pupils

Specific Learning Difficulty 3 pupils

Visual Impairment 1 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 1 pupils