Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy, Chesterfield
Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Chesterfield, part of Minerva Learning Trust. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in May 2016. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in March 2025 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 45th-highest of the 48 schools in Chesterfield with published results, and 13,886th of 14,452 across England. It was 77% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2016)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- In line with England
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Derbyshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy in detail
Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy in its own words
The school runs a breakfast club.
Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 49% of Year 6 pupils at Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 51% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 76% and 73% in Derbyshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 56% in reading and 63% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy
For September 2026 entry, 15 families put Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy as their first choice and 37 named it as one of their preferences, for 18 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy are Newbold CofE Primary School (0.3 miles, Good, 73% reading, 87% maths); Cavendish Junior School (0.6 miles, Good, 60% reading, 57% maths); Highfield Hall Primary School (0.7 miles, Good, 64% reading, 64% maths); and Whittington Moor Nursery and Infant Academy (0.7 miles, Good).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy.
Newbold CofE Primary SchoolCavendish Junior SchoolHighfield Hall Primary SchoolWhittington Moor Nursery and Infant Academy
The trust
Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy is one of 10 schools run by Minerva Learning Trust, an academy trust.
What parents say
13 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy (as of September 2025): 39% would recommend the school, 62% say their child is happy there and 0% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (69%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (0%).
Who goes there
53.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 7.5% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
The largest ethnic groups are White British (82%) and Mixed (5%).
In 2026, 32 pupils (14.1%) received SEN support and 14 (6.2%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.
Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy has a resourced provision for physical disability: 8 places, 3 pupils on roll.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Chesterfield Rail Station, about 1.8 miles away in a straight line.
18 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Dunston Lane (adjacent), 90 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 234 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Derbyshire (50), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy issued 15 suspensions, 5.9 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy are St Mary's Catholic High School, A Catholic Voluntary Academy (0.3 miles); Outwood Academy Newbold (0.6 miles); and Whittington Green School (1.6 miles).
St Mary's Catholic High School, A Catholic Voluntary AcademyOutwood Academy NewboldWhittington Green School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from May 2016, 10 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Early Years
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's March 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
The school creates a calm, orderly environment where pupils behave well and enjoy coming to school. Staff provide excellent support for pupils with disabilities through a specialist resource provision, ensuring they are fully included alongside their peers. The school prioritises early reading and has recently designed an ambitious curriculum focused on building children's language and knowledge in a logical order.
Key Strengths
- Strong support for pupils with SEND who are fully included in school life
- Consistent phonics programme with daily reading practice and engaging book study
- Well-behaved, calm school with pupils taking responsibility through roles like head pupils and play leaders
- Ambitious new curriculum with strong focus on developing children's language from early years
- Effective safeguarding arrangements
Areas for Improvement
- Teachers not yet equipped with enough expertise to implement the new curriculum effectively and address gaps in pupils' prior knowledge
- Assessment processes not consistently checking pupils' understanding, leading to misconceptions not being identified
- Pupils falling behind in reading and phonics do not catch up quickly enough
- Limited teaching of fundamental British values and understanding of equality
- Attendance rates have not been high enough
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with proper procedures and oversight in place.
Extracurricular Activities
Book study, visits from local police and fire services
Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy is a primary school with a specialist provision for pupils with physical impairments. The quality of education requires improvement, though behaviour, personal development, leadership and early years provision are all good.
At a Glance
53.3%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
Resourced provision: Physical
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
13 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 56% to 49% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 63% to 51% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 70% to 57% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
21.5
Avg class size
22.3
KS2
8
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Social & online
Keep up with Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy
Before and after school care
Clubs on Ofsted's childcare register at or near Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy.
- Active Summer Camps at Chesterfield Campus870m away · Not yet graded
Term dates
Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy is an academy, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Derbyshire's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy is in Derbyshire; for families living there:
- Derbyshire's school travel policy: Home to school transport policy 2026 to 2027 - 465KB
- How to apply: Apply for home to school transport assistance
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 11
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 11 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 1 serious and 9 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot.
4 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Derbyshire is 6 (the median across 454 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy
Will you get a place at Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Derbyshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy for 2018 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Derbyshire got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
77%
Available places
242 pupils
315 places
73 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Chesterfield
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Chesterfield
Across Derbyshire council
Places available
9,875
Applications
7,189
Got 1st preference
94.5%
Got preferred school
99.2%
All primary applications across Derbyshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
32
SEN Support
14
EHC Plans
20.3%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy has a resourced provision for physical disability: 8 places, 3 pupils on roll.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
227
Total Pupils
115
Boys
112
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
15
Teachers
15.1:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£51,809
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£6,189
Per pupil
£1831k
Total funding
£217k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
6.0%
Overall absence
15.6%
Persistent absence
225
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy
Questions parents ask about Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy
What are SATs results like at Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy?
Of the pupils at Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 49% reached the expected standard in reading and 51% did so in maths.
What is Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy's Ofsted rating?
Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy's most recent Ofsted inspection, in March 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in May 2016, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy?
No fixed boundary. When Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy is oversubscribed, Derbyshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy?
Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy was not full in 2025: it ran at 77% of its 315 places.
How big are the classes at Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy?
Classes at Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy average 21.5 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy?
Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy has around 227 pupils on roll. 53% are eligible for free school meals.
Does Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy have specialist SEN provision?
Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy has a resourced provision for physical disability: 8 places, 3 pupils on roll.
What is attendance like at Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy?
6% of sessions were missed at Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy in 2024/25. 15.6% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy?
Apply through Derbyshire's coordinated admissions process, naming Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
Does Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy have a breakfast club or after-school club?
Ofsted's childcare register lists an out-of-school club within a kilometre of Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy: Active Summer Camps at Chesterfield Campus (870m away, registered, not yet graded). The school may also run its own clubs, which don't have to register with Ofsted.
How many road collisions happen near Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 11 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 1 serious and 9 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot. 4 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Derbyshire is 6 (the median across 454 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy?
Dunston Primary and Nursery Academy is at Dunston Lane, Newbold, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S41 8EY.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)