School Chooser

Chaucer Infant School

Primary · ages 3-7MixedAcademy188 pupilsNursery Free breakfast clubIlkestonDerbyshire
School Chooser Score
1
Well below
similar schools
Likely range 1 to 3
Out of 100. Better than 0% of the 50 schools most like it. Slipping year on year.
#15,861 of 16,041 in England#324 in DerbyshireHow it is worked out
OfstedNo overall gradeLast Ofsted inspection, September 2024
Attendance93.9%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families39%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull188 pupils, 180 places
Pupils per teacher20.0School workforce census
Pupils on roll188Census January 2026

Chaucer Infant School is a converter academy in Ilkeston for boys and girls aged 3 to 7. It has 188 pupils, 8 more than it has places for. About 39 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. We give it 1 out of 100. That puts it well below schools like it, ahead of 0% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was inspected 2024, no overall grade.

Cantelupe Road, Ilkeston, DE7 5LN0115 932 5629chaucer-inf.derbyshire.sch.ukMrs Tracy Hopkins headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 24 September 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Not judged Between September 2024 and November 2025, Ofsted graded each area but stopped giving one overall word.

TeachingOfsted calls this “quality of education”
Requires improvement
BehaviourOfsted calls this “behaviour and attitudes”
Requires improvement
WellbeingOfsted calls this “personal development”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Requires improvement
Early years
Requires improvement
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes

Results

No published results yet for this school.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

A few spare places155 pupils for 180 places, 2024/25
86% full

About 25 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have fallen by 10% since 2021/22, so places are getting easier to find.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Derbyshire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.

Pupils on roll188Census January 2026
Places180104% full
Pupils from low-income families39%39% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English13%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support23%44 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan3%5 pupils with a plan
Average class size24.05 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils0%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)41%£93,000 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls103 / 85
White British pupils79%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: language and communications needs (18), emotional and mental health (17), Autistic spectrum disorder (8), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (2), Vision impairment (2), Moderate learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll188203204209217235
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals39%40%41%43%35%33%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language13%9%11%12%11%10%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support–15%15%14%11%7%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans–3%2%2%1%0%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.9% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance93.9%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school19.5%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils10.82024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.5%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19†England
Sessions missedOverall absence6.1%7.5%5.9%7.0%3.3%4.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence4.6%5.3%4.0%6.1%2.2%3.6%–
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.5%2.2%1.9%0.8%1.1%1.3%–
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence19.5%20.9%13.8%20.7%6.7%9.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate10.87.80.02.81.7––
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000––

† These attendance figures are for Chaucer Infant School, the school this one replaced in May 2020. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers8.6full-time equivalent, 10 people
Pupils per teacher20.0Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants10.1full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£45,138
Teachers who left in the year47%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.12024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other primary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£7,355England £7,128. Total £1.4m
Income per pupil£8,801England £7,587. Total £1.6m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,753England £3,405
Money in reserve3%Not much put by: £49k, £265 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£269kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£7,355spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m89812 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate195 per 1,000 people114% higher than the England average
Typical house price£215,000Erewash
Nearest bus stop360 mLime Street, 17 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest primary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Chaucer Junior SchoolAcademy220 m233Not inspected63Compare
Larklands Infant SchoolCouncil600 m145Not inspected–Compare
Kensington Junior AcademyAcademy880 m178Good 202449Compare
St Thomas Catholic Voluntary AcademyAcademy900 m225Good 202360Compare
Field House Infant SchoolAcademy980 m201Good 202332Compare
Charlotte Nursery and Infant SchoolCouncil0.8 miles288No overall grade 20253Compare
Granby Junior SchoolCouncil0.9 miles286No overall grade 20247Compare
Hallam Fields Junior SchoolCouncil1.0 miles217Good 202224Compare
Primary schools in DerbyshirePrimary schools in IlkestonBest primary schools in England

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Chaucer Infant School with the 48 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 48 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats0%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the bottom of its group. Its score of 1 is 32 points below the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 2 · middle 33 · highest 74100

Nearby schools with a similar mix of pupils that score higher

Of those 48 schools, these are within 25 km and score at least five points more than Chaucer Infant School, nearest first. A school with the same kind of pupils and a higher score is the fairest sign that it gets more out of them.

SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Killisick Junior SchoolAcademy8.4 miles191Good 201973Compare
Croft Infant SchoolCouncil9.2 miles166Good 202033Compare

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 1 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 1% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 1 to 3. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.

What we looked atHow much it countsAgainst schools like itEffect on the scoreBased on
Results over three years0%no data
–
Ofsted inspection20%well below
-1.10
Ofsted grade, 2.0 years old
Progress pupils make0%no data
–
Direction of travel over five years10%well below
-0.30
results and attendance falling year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%below
-0.18
2024/25; 118 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils0%no data
–
What parents say0%no data
–

Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.

Questions parents ask

Is Chaucer Infant School a good school?

The figures are weak. Chaucer Infant School scores 1 out of 100. That is well below schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 0% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 1 to 3, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much. Its results have been slipping over the last five years.

What is Chaucer Infant School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Chaucer Infant School not judged at its last full inspection on 24 September 2024.

How many pupils does Chaucer Infant School have?

188 pupils aged 3 to 7 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 180 places, so it is 104% full.

Is Chaucer Infant School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 25 places were empty in 2024/25 (14% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Chaucer Infant School?

Pupils were in school 93.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 19% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Chaucer Infant School?

The average class had 24.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

Does Chaucer Infant School have a breakfast club?

Yes. It is on the government's free breakfast club programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Cantelupe Road, Ilkeston, DE7 5LN
Telephone
0115 932 5629
Website
www.chaucer-inf.derbyshire.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Tracy Hopkins
Free breakfast club
Yes: on the government's programme, so every pupil can have a free half-hour breakfast club before school (listed since September 2026).
Type of school
Converter academy (Academy converter, academies)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-7, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
Embark Multi Academy Trust (29 schools)
Local authority
Derbyshire
Ward
Larklands
Constituency
Erewash
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 May 2020 (academy converter)
URN
147747 · LAESTAB 8302135 · UKPRN 10085830
Formerly
Chaucer Infant School
Official recordOfsted reportsGovernment performance tablesDownload this school's data (CSV)

Where these figures come from