Calow CofE VC Primary School

About Calow CofE VC Primary School

Calow CofE VC Primary School sits in the bottom half of Derbyshire primary schools when it comes to the key stage 2 combined expected standard in reading, writing and maths, with just 44% of pupils reaching that benchmark. That is a full 15 percentage points below the local authority average of 59%, a gap that places the school in the bottom 50 nationally for this metric. However, the picture is more mixed than that headline suggests. In maths, 81% of pupils met the expected standard and the average scaled score of 104 is in line with the national norm. Reading also produced an average score of 104, with 67% hitting the expected level. The real drag comes from writing, where only 59% met the expected standard and no pupils at all achieved the higher standard. So while the school is clearly struggling to match the LA average overall, its maths and reading results are far more respectable than the combined figure implies.

The school’s most recent Ofsted inspection in September 2022 rated it Good across every category, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. That is a significant improvement from its previous inspection in 2019, when the overall effectiveness was Requires Improvement, with quality of education, early years and leadership all graded as requiring improvement. The turnaround suggests that headteacher Sarah Wigfield and her team have made real progress in stabilising the school. With 179 pupils on roll against a capacity of 199, the school is not full, and it was oversubscribed for 2025/26 entry, receiving 44 applications for 27 places, with all 27 first-preference offers accepted. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is 38%, well above the national average, which provides important context for the attainment figures.

Calow is a Church of England primary with nursery provision for children aged three and above, and it offers a solid range of facilities including a sensory room, sports hall, gymnasium, library, ICT suite and chapel. Sports on offer include athletics, netball, gymnastics, rounders and dance, while clubs cover drama, choir and chess. The school’s SEND provision is broad, supporting pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication difficulties, hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorder and other difficulties. For families who value a school that has demonstrably improved its Ofsted rating, offers strong maths and reading outcomes despite a challenging intake, and provides a wide range of enrichment activities, Calow is a credible option. The key caveat is that writing attainment is notably weak, so parents of children who need extra support in that area should investigate how the school addresses it.

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