Sutton Upon Derwent Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 2 June 2026

Sutton-upon-Derwent School is a happy place at the heart of its community. Pupils welcome visitors to their school, build warm relationships with adults and show kindness to one another. A caring and inclusive culture runs throughout the school. In the classroom, staff actively help pupils develop enthusiasm for learning. Pupils are keen to take part and they concentrate well. Pupils attend trips that help them bring learning to life. For example, they visit a nature reserve to enhance a topic on rivers. However, the quality of teaching pupils receive is too variable. Some pupils do not embed basic skills in reading, writing, handwriting and mathematics well enough. This means they build later learning on insecure foundations. Teachers do not consistently identify and address gaps in learning quickly enough. This limits how well-prepared some pupils are for their next steps. In addition, some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not consistently receive the precise support they need in the classroom. This is because, on occasion, the work does not match well to what they already know and can do. Pupils demonstrate a mature attitude towards equality and relationships. They understand what makes people different and why this should be celebrated. Pupils say that bullying and unkindness rarely happens in their school. They trust the adults around them to solve their problems and listen to their needs. Children in the early years make a positive start to their learning and development. Pupils appreciate discovering talents and interests through the school’s enriching offer. They can take part in a wide range of activities that help them learn about the wider world, have fun and make friends. This includes forming a rock band, learning hairdressing and participating in sport. Pupils enjoy coming to school which is reflected in their positive rates of attendance.

What the school should improve

• Leaders should ensure that robust quality assurance identifies precise, measurable priorities for improvement. Leaders' aims should help everyone understand what success looks like, enable them to evaluate how effectively actions are improving pupils’ experiences and outcomes and lead to timely adaptation where needed.
• Leaders should continue recent work to embed whole-school assessment processes that inform high-quality teaching, are underpinned by targeted and impactful professional development for staff and lead to improved outcomes for pupils.
• Leaders should ensure that teaching consistently secures pupils’ essential knowledge and skills, including the use of checks on learning to promptly identify and address gaps in reading, handwriting, spelling and number facts, so that all pupils, including those who face barriers to learning, develop accuracy and fluency over time.
• Staff should ensure that learning is consistently and effectively adapted to pupils’ starting points. This includes breaking learning into manageable steps, particularly for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, so that they can participate successfully and independently and make sustained progress across the curriculum.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)