School let pupils and parents 'freely come and go'

The village school was handed a damning report card by inspectors

A Derbyshire primary school where parents and pupils were able to “freely come and go” in and out of the building has been ruled unsafe.

Inspectors stopped the practice of parents and pupils having Elton Church of England Primary’s front door access code during their visit in May - adding the school was not monitoring who was entering and exiting the school.

In a report published on Wednesday Ofsted said the school, in Elton, did not keep pupils safe, adding some children were badly behaved, and left unable to learn.

The school's acting headteacher said the findings were "disappointing" but the school was working hard to tackle the issues raised.

The village school, which has just 20 pupils on its register, states its aim is “to enable all our children to thrive in the loving, caring, Christian environment of a small, friendly village school”.

But Elton Primary, while “small and welcoming,” has been graded as “inadequate” overall by the three inspectors who visited over two days.

It has been handed a seven-point improvement plan.

'Disjointed lessons'

In the report, lead inspector Donna Chambers said: “The school has not ensured that pupils receive an acceptable standard of education.

“Pupils with special educational needs or disabilities do not get the support they need.

“In lessons, some pupils do not always behave well. Staff frequently ignore poor behaviour.

“At lunchtime, some pupils do not play safely.

“Pupils report that bullying does happen. They say that adults do not deal with their concerns properly.”

The report adds lessons are “disjointed” as the knowledge and skills pupils need have not been identified.

But inspectors said the school supports pupils’ wider development, that children are taught how to be safe including online, and the school provides a range of trips, visits and clubs.

Oona Gilbertson, acting headteacher of Elton Primary School said: “Everyone at the school was very disappointed with the outcome of the Ofsted report.

“There were however many positive aspects of the report relating to the teaching and support regarding PSHE and how to keep safe as well as the range of extra curricular activities which includes trips and visits.

“We have taken steps in recent weeks to address the issues that Ofsted raised, and will be working hard to implement all the changes that have been highlighted.”

Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.