School Chooser

Findern Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedCouncil207 pupilsNurseryDerbyDerbyshire
School Chooser Score
88
Well above
similar schools
Likely range 76 to 95, so it could be “above”
Out of 100. Better than 81% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, March 2024
Reached the expected level at 1176%England 63%
Attendance96.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families10%Far fewer than most schools
Places3 spare207 pupils, 210 places
Pupils per teacher24.6School workforce census

Findern Primary School is a council school in Derby for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 207 pupils and room for 210. About 10 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 89 out of 100. That puts it well above schools like it, ahead of 81% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Buckford Lane, Findern, Derby, DE65 6AR01283 702150findern.derbyshire.sch.ukMr James Goodman headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 13 March 2024, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Good overall.

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

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

29 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England.

Reached the expected level at 1176%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level7%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score109.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score107.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 84%84%20172018: 86%86%20182019: 77%77%20192023: 74%74%20232024: 84%84%20242025: 76%76%2025
Since 2017: -8%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017DerbyshireEngland
Pupils tested293231222219
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths76%84%74%77%86%84%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths7%13%6%9%14%5%8%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score109.0108.0106.0105.0110.0108.0105.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score107.0107.0106.0107.0106.0106.0104.2104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score108.0110.0107.0108.0109.0108.0104.6105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard83%88%87%77%95%95%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard79%91%94%86%91%95%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)83%88%77%86%91%84%
Reading progressReading progress score+3.6-0.6+4.4+3.0
Maths progressMaths progress score+4.3+0.9+0.9+1.0

There are no progress figures for 2025. That year group missed their Year 2 tests during Covid, so there was no starting point to measure from. Progress figures come back with the December 2026 results. Tests were cancelled altogether in 2020 and 2021.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At the end of primary school, 2025

Reached the expected level at 11Boys vs girls
77%75%
Gap 2 ptsEngland 5 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Nearly full207 pupils for 210 places, 2024/25
99% full

Fewer than one place in twenty is empty, so in most years more families apply than there are places. Living close by, or already having a child here, makes a real difference. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.

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 roll207Census January 2026
Places21099% full
Pupils from low-income families10%10% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English7%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support12%24 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan2%4 pupils with a plan
Average class size29.67 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)8%£24,800 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls102 / 105
White British pupils79%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 29.7 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 29.5 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (8), language and communications needs (7), Autistic spectrum disorder (6), Specific learning difficulty (4), Moderate learning difficulty (2), Severe learning difficulty (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll207207210207207210
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals10%9%9%8%11%11%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language7%7%6%4%2%3%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support13%14%11%12%8%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans2%1%1%2%1%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school5.0%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.02024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission0.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence3.3%3.8%3.6%4.4%2.5%3.2%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.7%3.3%3.1%3.9%2.3%2.8%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence0.7%0.5%0.5%0.4%0.2%0.4%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence5.0%6.1%5.0%8.1%5.4%1.7%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.00.00.00.50.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers8.4full-time equivalent, 11 people
Pupils per teacher24.6Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants9.1full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£53,365
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher1.02024/25

Money

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

Spend per pupil£6,695England £7,738. Total £1.4m
Income per pupil£6,607England £7,697. Total £1.4m
Spent on teachers per pupil£2,916England £3,480
Money in reserve6%Not much put by: £83k, £399 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£18kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£6,695spent 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

Local crime rate48 per 1,000 people48% lower than the England average
Typical house price£259,000South Derbyshire
Nearest bus stop670 mHeath Lane, 0 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
Willington Primary SchoolCouncil1.1 miles207Good 202479Compare
Repton Primary SchoolCouncil1.7 miles231No overall grade 202565Compare
Highfields Spencer AcademyFree school1.7 miles258No overall grade 202584Compare
Stenson Fields Primary Community SchoolCouncil1.8 miles328Good 20228Compare
Ash Croft Primary AcademyAcademy2.1 miles208Good 202215Compare
Grampian Primary AcademyAcademy2.2 miles231Good 202229Compare
Griffe Field Primary SchoolAcademy2.3 miles459Outstanding 202399Compare
Redwood Primary SchoolCouncil2.4 miles628Good 202380Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Findern Primary School with the 47 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 47 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats81%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
In the top quarter of its group. Its score of 89 is 13 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 8 · middle 76 · highest 98100

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 89 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 89% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 76 to 95. That range is wide enough that the school could sit in the next band, so take the band as a rough guide rather than a verdict. 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 years25%above
+0.16
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 29 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 2.5 years old
Progress pupils make20%well above
+0.21
DfE progress measure; 29 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%above
+0.05
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%well above
+0.12
2024/25; 180 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%above
+0.07
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 29 pupils
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 Findern Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Findern Primary School scores 89 out of 100. That is well above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 81% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 76 to 95, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Findern Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Findern Primary School good at its last full inspection on 13 March 2024.

How good are Findern Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 76% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 7% went further and reached the higher level.

How many pupils does Findern Primary School have?

207 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 210 places, so it is 99% full.

Is Findern Primary School oversubscribed?

Often. Fewer than one place in twenty was empty in 2024/25, so popular year groups fill up.

What is attendance like at Findern Primary School?

Pupils were in school 96.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 5% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Findern Primary School?

The average class had 29.6 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. No class had more than 30 pupils.

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

Contact and details

Address
Buckford Lane, Findern, Derby, DE65 6AR
Telephone
01283 702150
Website
www.findern.derbyshire.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mr James Goodman
Type of school
Council school (Community school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Local authority
Derbyshire
Ward
Willington and Findern
Constituency
South Derbyshire
Setting
Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
112551 · LAESTAB 8302107 · UKPRN 10076152

Where these figures come from