Ecton Village Primary School

About Ecton Village Primary School

Ecton Village Primary School is a small state primary in North Northamptonshire, serving just 67 pupils from ages 3 to 11. Within the local authority, it ranks 86th out of 90 primary schools, placing it in the bottom half of the table. The top-performing peers in the area include Gretton Primary Academy, Stanion Church of England (Aided) Primary School, and Broughton Primary School, all of which score significantly higher on the same ranking metric. The school is non-denominational and co-educational, with a headteacher, Kate Cleaver, leading a team that has recently turned things around. In its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023, the school was rated Good overall, a notable improvement from its previous Requires Improvement rating in 2019. Every inspected category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision — was rated Good, suggesting consistent progress across the board.

Academically, the school’s Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 show a mixed picture. Only 33% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths combined, well below the local authority average of 61%. The school ranks in the bottom 50 nationally on this measure. However, individual subject scores tell a more nuanced story. In reading, 56% reached the expected standard and 33% achieved a higher standard, with an average score of 102. In maths, 56% reached the expected standard and 22% achieved a higher standard, with an average score of 99. Writing was weaker, with only 33% meeting expectations and none reaching the higher standard. The school does not publish progress scores for reading, writing, or maths, so it is difficult to assess how much value it adds relative to pupils’ starting points. The small cohort size — likely fewer than 15 pupils — means these percentages can swing sharply from year to year.

The school offers a range of facilities including a library, music rooms, sports hall, playing fields, and a chapel, plus an outdoor playground. Sports on offer include athletics, cricket, swimming, tennis, rounders, and dance, while clubs cover coding, drama, art, chess, book club, and film club. The school has nursery provision for younger children. It identifies three areas of SEND support: moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health, and speech, language and communication. For the 2025/26 intake, the school was oversubscribed, with 21 applications for 6 places and 5 first-preference offers made. This suggests strong local demand despite the modest academic outcomes. Ecton Village Primary is best suited to families who value a small, community-focused setting with improving Ofsted grades and a broad extracurricular offer, and who are comfortable with results that sit below the LA average.

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