School Chooser

Hathersage St Michael's CofE (Aided) Primary School

Primary · ages 3-11MixedChurch of England144 pupilsNurseryHope ValleyDerbyshire
School Chooser Score
79
Above
similar schools
Likely range 53 to 92, so it could be “well above”
Out of 100. Better than 96% of the 50 schools most like it. Much the same over the last five years.
OfstedGoodLast Ofsted inspection, October 2023
Reached the expected level at 1175%England 63%
Attendance96.0%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families19%A bit fewer than most schools
Places31 spare144 pupils, 175 places
Pupils per teacher18.6School workforce census

Hathersage St Michael's CofE (Aided) Primary School is a Church of England school (voluntary aided) in Hope Valley for boys and girls aged 3 to 11. It has 144 pupils and room for 175. About 18 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit fewer than at most schools. We give it 79 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 96% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.

School Lane, Hathersage, Hope Valley, S32 1BZ01433 650434st-michaels.derbyshire.sch.ukMrs Karen Johnstone headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

Ofsted's last full inspection was on 17 October 2023, 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”
Good
LeadershipOfsted calls this “leadership and management”
Good
Early years
Good
Safeguarding
Effective
Yes
Earlier inspections (1)
DateTypeOutcome
15 February 2022UngradedSchool remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next

Results

Year 6 results (SATs), summer 2025

16 children took the tests. Here is how they did against every state primary in England. With a year group this small, a couple of children can move the percentages a long way.

Reached the expected level at 1175%
England 63%
Official name: Expected standard in reading, writing and maths
Working above the expected level13%
England 8%
Official name: Higher standard in reading, writing and maths
Reading score110.0
England 105.6
Official name: Reading average scaled score
Maths score105.0
England 104.6
Official name: Maths average scaled score
Trend
Reached the expected level at 11
2017 to 2025
2017: 83%83%20172018: 79%79%20182019: 86%86%20192023: 79%79%20232024: 83%83%20242025: 75%75%2025
Since 2017: -8%Steady overall
All Year 6 measures, year by year
Measure202520242023201920182017DerbyshireEngland
Pupils tested161819281923
Reached the expected level at 11Expected standard in reading, writing and maths75%83%79%86%79%83%60%63%
Working above the expected levelHigher standard in reading, writing and maths13%17%5%18%16%39%8%8%
Reading scoreReading average scaled score110.0108.0107.0108.0106.0111.0105.2105.6
Maths scoreMaths average scaled score105.0105.0106.0107.0106.0109.0104.2104.6
Grammar and spelling scoreGPS average scaled score109.0108.0107.0107.0106.0111.0104.6105.2
Expected level: readingReading expected standard81%94%89%89%84%100%
Expected level: mathsMaths expected standard75%89%89%86%79%96%
Expected level: writingWriting expected standard (teacher assessed)75%83%89%89%79%87%
Reading progressReading progress score+2.0+4.1+1.2+6.5
Maths progressMaths progress score+2.5+2.3+1.3+3.8

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.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published. As a Church of England school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.

Plenty of spare places115 pupils for 175 places, 2024/25
66% full

60 places were empty (34% of the total), so almost everyone who applies gets in. 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 roll144Census January 2026
Places17582% full
Pupils from low-income families16%19% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English3%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support10%15 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan0%0 pupils with a plan
Average class size24.06 classes, January 2026; England 25.4
Classes with more than 30 pupils17%Infant classes are capped at 30 by law; England 10%
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)17%£32,550 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls76 / 68
White British pupils88%

Infant classes (Reception to Year 2) average 19.0 pupils (England 25.5); junior classes (Years 3 to 6) average 27.0 (England 27.3).

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Specific learning difficulty (8), Hearing impairment (3), language and communications needs (2), Other difficulty or disability (1), emotional and mental health (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll144141150148143142
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals16%13%13%16%12%11%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language3%2%2%1%0%0%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support6%11%7%4%5%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans0%1%0%0%0%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 96.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance96.0%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school4.0%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils0.72024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission1.2%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence4.0%4.0%4.6%6.0%2.3%2.5%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence2.7%3.4%4.1%5.2%2.0%2.2%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence1.2%0.7%0.6%0.8%0.4%0.3%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence4.0%5.6%11.0%14.7%0.9%0.0%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate0.70.00.00.00.0
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

Staff and money

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

Teachers7.2full-time equivalent, 9 people
Pupils per teacher18.6Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants3.0full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£48,271
Teachers who left in the year13%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher7.22024/25

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£6,822England £7,738. Total £880k
Income per pupil£6,791England £7,697. Total £876k
Spent on teachers per pupil£3,766England £3,480
Money in reserve4%Not much put by: £30k, £236 per pupil. England 6%
Money in against money out-£4,062it spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£6,822spent 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 m5512 months to June 2026, mostly burglary
Local crime rate41 per 1,000 people55% lower than the England average
Typical house price£320,000Derbyshire Dales
Nearest bus stop20 mSchool, 10 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
Bamford Primary SchoolCouncil2.0 miles64Good 202260Compare
Grindleford Primary SchoolCouncil2.5 miles41Good 202362Compare
Eyam CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England3.4 miles64No overall grade 202437Compare
Bradwell CofE (Controlled) Infant School & NurseryChurch of England3.7 miles20Good 202454Compare
Bradwell Junior SchoolAcademy3.9 miles41Inadequate 20227Compare
Stoney Middleton CofE (C) Primary SchoolChurch of England3.9 miles20Good 20248Compare
Hope Primary SchoolCouncil4.1 miles67No overall grade 202423Compare
Great Hucklow CE PrimaryChurch of England4.1 miles33Good 202313Compare

Compared with schools like it

Our score compares Hathersage St Michael's CofE (Aided) Primary School with the 46 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 46 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.

Beats96%of schools with a similar mix of pupils
Near the very top of its group. Its score of 79 is 41 points above the typical school in the group.
0Lowest of the group 1 · middle 38 · highest 99100

No school with a similar mix of pupils within 25 km scores clearly higher.

How the score was worked out

The score is out of 100. A 79 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 79% of primary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 53 to 92. 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%in line
+0.06
2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 16 pupils
Ofsted inspection20%in line
+0.01
Ofsted grade, 2.9 years old
Progress pupils make20%above
+0.07
DfE progress measure; 16 pupils
Direction of travel over five years10%in line
+0.03
results and attendance rising year on year
Attendance and behaviour10%above
+0.09
2024/25; 99 pupils
Results, allowing for the mix of pupils10%well above
+0.12
Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 16 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 Hathersage St Michael's CofE (Aided) Primary School a good school?

Yes, going by the figures. Hathersage St Michael's CofE (Aided) Primary School scores 79 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 96% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 53 to 92, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.

What is Hathersage St Michael's CofE (Aided) Primary School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Hathersage St Michael's CofE (Aided) Primary School good at its last full inspection on 17 October 2023.

How good are Hathersage St Michael's CofE (Aided) Primary School's SATs results?

In summer 2025, 75% of Year 6 children reached the expected level in reading, writing and maths. Across England it was 63%. 13% went further and reached the higher level. The year group was small, so the percentages jump around a lot from year to year.

How many pupils does Hathersage St Michael's CofE (Aided) Primary School have?

144 pupils aged 3 to 11 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 175 places, so it is 82% full.

Is Hathersage St Michael's CofE (Aided) Primary School oversubscribed?

Probably not. 60 places were empty in 2024/25 (34% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.

What is attendance like at Hathersage St Michael's CofE (Aided) Primary School?

Pupils were in school 96.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 4% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

How big are the classes at Hathersage St Michael's CofE (Aided) Primary School?

The average class had 24.0 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 25.4. 17% of classes 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
School Lane, Hathersage, Hope Valley, S32 1BZ
Telephone
01433 650434
Website
www.st-michaels.derbyshire.sch.uk
Headteacher
Mrs Karen Johnstone
Type of school
Church of England school (voluntary aided) (Voluntary aided school, local authority maintained schools)
Phase
Primary school, ages 3-11, with nursery
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England, Diocese of Derby
Local authority
Derbyshire
Ward
Hathersage
Constituency
Derbyshire Dales
Setting
Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
112885 · LAESTAB 8303321 · UKPRN 10071049

Where these figures come from