Schools & FE · Report card

Cotgrave Church of England Primary School

Inspected 2 Dec 2025 · URN 148880

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Summary

No overall grade in this frameworkSafeguarding met

Claire Stylianides (lead), Mark Westmoreland

What we read, and from where

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Achievement verified
Needs attention
Attendance and behaviour verified
Needs attention
Curriculum and teaching verified
Needs attention
Early years verified
Expected standard
Inclusion verified
Expected standard
Leadership and governance verified
Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing verified
Expected standard
Framework verified
Report card
Inspection datesingle source
2 Dec 2025
Inspectors verified
Claire Stylianides, Mark Westmoreland
Postcode verified
NG12 3HS
Name on report verified
Cotgrave Church of England Primary School
Safeguarding verified
Met
URN verified
148880

Page 1 of 16

Deep dive

What this report says

In plain English

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Grade profile

Each judgement on its scale, weakest to strongest.

AchievementNeeds attention
Attendance and behaviourNeeds attention
Curriculum and teachingNeeds attention
Early yearsExpected
InclusionExpected
Leadership and governanceExpected
Personal development and wellbeingExpected

Tone of the report

How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.

+39Positivemore positive than 16% of reports of this type

In line with other reports of this type.

Praisehigh expectationsambitiouseffectivelynurturingpositiveflourisheffectiveenjoy

Criticismweaknessesnot consistentlygapsconcernspoornot effectivelacksconcern

How the report reads, start to finish

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FindingsSafeguardingAbout the inspectionLeadershipWhat needs to improve positive critical

Findings1327w+25
Leadership266w+87
Safeguarding51w−11
What needs to improve127w+68

Strengths

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Concerns

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Next steps

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What the report dwells on

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Anatomy of the report

How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.

Pages: 16
Words of findings: 1,765; about usual (typical 1698)
Reading level: Hard; Flesch 45, typical 43
Average sentence: 15 words
Next steps: 6; typical 3
Hedged sentences: 5%; “some”, “not always”, “most”…

Where the words go

Findings 43%Leadership 9%Safeguarding 2%What needs to improve 4%About the inspection 42%

Full report text

Cotgrave Church of England Primary School

Address: The Cross, NG12 3HS Unique reference number (URN): 148880

p.1

Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

p.1

How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

p.1

Early years Expected standard

Leaders and staff work well with parents and carers to make sure children have a successful start to their education. Leaders design the early years curriculum carefully and staff deliver it well. Developing children’s spoken language is central to the work in the early years. Staff engage in high-quality interactions with children. They model speaking clearly while introducing new words in meaningful ways so that children can practise using them. Leaders prioritise phonics teaching. Children learn to read and spell well.

p.2

Early years Expected standard

Staff develop the listening skills of children in the Nursery Year well. This helps prepare them well for learning phonics in the Reception Year. Staff make sure the children are confident singing many nursery rhymes so that they can build towards reading and writing quickly.

p.2

Early years Expected standard

Staff provide a thoughtful range of activities that make learning memorable and enable children to develop well in all areas. They adapt the curriculum and teaching suitably for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff monitor children’s engagement with activities and offer support and encouragement to extend their learning. Children enjoy playing outdoors and staff inspire them to use their imagination while building with blocks and crates. Overall, children progress well in the early years and typically achieve a good level of development, preparing them well for Year 1.

p.2

Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders have transformed the school's processes to ensure staff quickly identify pupils who face barriers to learning and need more help. Staff seek advice and work closely with a range of external professionals and services to provide the right support. Leaders give staff well-considered training, so they understand specific difficulties and implement appropriate strategies. Leaders and staff set high expectations for every pupil to develop personally and academically. They typically remove barriers to learning so pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities can access the full curriculum and participate in all school activities.

p.2

Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders prioritise building trusting relationships and engaging with parents and carers. Parents are included in decisions about how best to meet their children’s individual needs. They speak highly of the nurturing support that staff provide for their children.

p.2

Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders understand the challenges disadvantaged pupils face. They use the pupil premium funding strategically to address these challenges. Staff give these pupils extra help to close gaps in knowledge and enable them to take part in extra-curricular activities. Leaders have taken action to improve disadvantaged pupils’ attendance, but these efforts have had limited impact.

p.2

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Since becoming an academy and joining the trust, the school has experienced a number of changes. The new leadership team has acted swiftly to improve key areas of the school, such as inclusion. Recent improvements in the processes for identifying pupils with barriers to learning, and ensuring staff put the right support in place, have had a positive impact. Leaders have also ensured that the curriculum is now ambitious and well designed. Leaders, including those responsible for governance, have a thorough understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. They are committed to meeting every pupil's needs so that all pupils can achieve and flourish.

p.2

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders are ambitious and know where improvements are needed so that the teaching of the curriculum is consistently effective. They have highly appropriate plans in place to build on the recent improvements. Leaders know they need to continue to remove barriers that prevent disadvantaged pupils from attending school more regularly. The trust and dedicated local governing body work effectively together to challenge and support leaders in driving improvement.

p.3

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff are proud to work at this rapidly improving school. They feel that leaders value and include them in shaping the vision for the school and that pupils’ best interests are always at the heart of leaders’ decisions. Leaders have implemented a tailored programme of professional learning that ensures staff develop their expertise to improve outcomes for pupils.

p.3

Leadership and governance Expected standard

Parents and carers speak very highly about the school. They recognise and appreciate recent improvements. They especially value the school’s fully inclusive ethos. Parents feel leaders and staff listen to and support them well.

p.3

Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders prioritise their vision to develop well-rounded individuals who flourish by confidently embracing all life has to offer. Pupils learn and talk about ways to keep themselves safe both online and when out and about in the local area. The school teaches pupils about positive mental health and healthy relationships in an age-appropriate way. Trained staff provide more tailored pastoral support when pupils need it.

p.3

Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school provides a range of experiences and activities that develop and broaden pupils’ talents and develop their character. Pupils enjoy craft clubs, sports and trips to the rowing festival, in addition to residential visits. Pupils speak enthusiastically of how they overcome their fears scrambling through small caves at an outdoor adventure centre. The school makes sure that disadvantaged pupils benefit equally from all these activities.

p.3

Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils learn well about responsibility. They are proud to have roles such as school councillors and worship monitors that enable them to contribute to school life. Helping others makes pupils feel that they belong to the community. Pupils speak with pride about singing with the choir at the local church memory café and visiting residents in the dementia care home.

p.3

Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils are developing their knowledge of the fundamental British values. They understand how these connect to the school’s values. Pupils are interested in learning about other cultures and religions, including through celebrating events like Diwali and visiting a synagogue. Pupils believe in treating others as they would like to be treated. They recognise

p.3

Needs attention

discrimination is wrong and value the importance of equality. Overall, pupils are developing an appropriate understanding of what it means to be a responsible citizen in Britain today.

p.4

Achievement Needs attention

For the past three years, pupils’ attainment has been significantly below average in the phonics screening check. Some pupils do not become fluent readers quickly enough, which hinders their learning across the curriculum, including for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The recently introduced phonics programme is helping staff close gaps in pupils’ knowledge more rapidly.

p.4

Achievement Needs attention

Pupils typically achieve well in national tests for reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 2. However, this achievement has historically relied too heavily on catching up in the latter stages.

p.4

Achievement Needs attention

In other subjects, pupils’ knowledge is not as well developed as it should be due to historical weaknesses in teaching. Pupils recall facts and discuss topics they have studied, but their understanding often lacks depth and includes misconceptions. Overall, pupils are not as well prepared as they should be for their next stages of learning.

p.4

Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

The continued poor attendance of disadvantaged pupils remains a concern for leaders. Although many pupils attend well, this group of pupils miss too much school. Leaders have sharpened their focus on ensuring pupils attend regularly. They monitor attendance patterns closely and provide personalised support to help families overcome barriers. Leaders make sure pupils and families understand why regular attendance matters and celebrate good attendance. While these actions have improved attendance in some cases, progress is often short-lived and does not lead to sustained regular attendance for disadvantaged pupils overall.

p.4

Attendance and behaviour Needs attention

Leaders and staff set high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Pupils live up to these and behave well. The school has a calm and nurturing atmosphere. Staff support pupils well with clear, established routines so pupils know what staff expect of them. They develop positive relationships with pupils and guide them effectively to make good choices. Pupils typically listen attentively and are keen to show their best in lessons. When pupils struggle to manage their behaviour or emotions, staff provide timely support. Pupils are energetic at playtimes. They play well together, with kindness and respect. Bullying and discriminatory behaviour are rare, and pupils trust staff to deal with any incidents quickly and effectively.

p.4

Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Teaching is not consistently effective across the school. Although leaders have improved how effectively the curriculum is taught, sometimes teachers do not focus sharply enough on key knowledge when teaching and checking pupils’ understanding. As a result, they do not identify and address pupils’ misconceptions often enough. While teachers make some effective adaptations to remove barriers for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, they do not consistently match these well to individual needs or consider what pupils already know. Leaders have recognised weaknesses in the delivery of the curriculum and have taken appropriate steps to improve it. They provide staff with the training and support they need to develop their expertise.

p.5

Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have designed an ambitious and well-sequenced curriculum for pupils. They clearly set out the key knowledge pupils need to learn over time. The school prioritises the development of pupils' knowledge in mathematics, reading, and writing. Teachers deliver the mathematics curriculum well. They identify pupils with gaps in knowledge and provide extra help to close these gaps quickly.

p.5

Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have recognised that the previous phonics programme was not having the desired impact and pupils were not taught to read swiftly enough. The school has recently introduced a new phonics programme and trained staff to deliver it effectively. Children in the early years learn to read well. However, although there has been improvement, the teaching of phonics beyond the early years is still not consistently effective.

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