Earl Sterndale CofE Primary School Review 2026, tiny Peak District primary with outdoor learning at its core

This is a school where published performance data can be limited by cohort size and assessment constraints, so parents often need to triangulate. On the Department for Education’s performance service, progress scores for recent years are not calculated because there is no Key Stage 1 baseline available for those cohorts.

The most recent external picture is mixed in a useful way. The school retains a Good grade overall on Ofsted, but the 10 December 2024 ungraded inspection indicated that aspects of practice may not be as strong as at the time of the previous inspection, and the next visit is expected to be graded.

What does that mean in practical terms for families? Strength is clearer in early reading than in whole-curriculum coherence. Phonics is described as more carefully designed, with decodable books matched to the sounds pupils are learning, while the curriculum sequence, particularly in mathematics, was identified as needing sharper definition of what pupils learn and when.

If you are comparing schools locally, use FindMySchool’s Local Hub and Comparison Tool to line up nearby primaries on the indicators that are available, then use visits and conversations to understand how a micro-school is handling curriculum sequencing across mixed-age classes.

Mixed-age teaching is not a compromise here, it is the operating model. The school runs two classes: Class 1 covering Reception to Year 2, and Class 2 covering Years 3 to 6. That structure can suit pupils who enjoy mentoring and being mentored, and it can build confidence, but it also places a premium on tight task design so that pupils at different stages are stretched appropriately.

The current inspection evidence flags exactly that risk: in mixed-age classes, work is not always closely matched to pupils’ stage of development, including for pupils with additional needs, and gaps in knowledge can be missed if assessment is not precise enough.

On the positive side, there is clear intentionality in reading practice. Whole class reading and phonics are framed as structured, with frequent opportunities for adults to listen to reading and check understanding, while the improvement focus is on correcting mistakes consistently so pupils build fluency faster.

A distinctive feature is the way outdoor learning is positioned as curriculum delivery, not an occasional treat. The school’s outdoor curriculum is built around progression, teamwork, managed risk, and resilience, delivered with staff and an external provider, White Hall Outdoor Education Centre.

As a primary school, the key transition is into Year 7. The most useful question for parents is less “which secondary” and more “what kind of learner will my child be by Year 6”. This school’s strengths in community familiarity, outdoor learning, and structured wellbeing language can suit pupils who benefit from secure relationships and repeated routines, and it can also suit confident pupils who enjoy being part of a small team.

Transition preparation is particularly important when curriculum sequencing has been identified as a development area. Ask how subject knowledge is tracked across mixed-age classes, and how Year 6 learning is aligned to Key Stage 3 expectations, especially in mathematics and foundation subjects.

Admissions are coordinated through Derbyshire County Council, and the school’s published admission number is 6 for Reception.

For September 2026 entry, Derbyshire’s primary application window opens on 10 November 2025 and closes at midnight on 15 January 2026, with National Offer Day on 16 April 2026.

Demand is meaningful even at this small scale. In the latest available snapshot, there were 12 applications and 8 offers, which is around 1.5 applications per place, so oversubscription can occur despite the small roll. When a school is this small, one or two families moving into the area can shift the picture quickly, so it is worth checking Derbyshire’s current-year position and speaking to the school about in-year movement.

If proximity is likely to matter for you, FindMySchool’s Map Search is the practical way to sanity-check travel distance and daily logistics before you commit to the application strategy.

Pastoral care is strongly emphasised, and the small-school context helps. The headteacher also holds the SENCO role and is the designated safeguarding lead, which can speed up decisions and keep support coherent, but it also means families should ask how capacity is protected when multiple responsibilities sit with the same person.

The school uses a clear emotional language approach through Zones of Regulation, and also references spaces and strategies designed to help pupils regulate, including a “calm den” style approach for pupils who become emotionally dysregulated.

Safeguarding is reported as effective, and parents should still do the sensible local checks: ask how concerns are logged, how staff training is refreshed, and how online safety is taught in a mixed-age setting.

This is where the school differentiates itself most clearly. Forest School is not occasional, it is timetabled weekly, usually on Mondays, and it runs across a woodland garden and a woodland plantation called High Edge Wood.

The educational value is practical. Children get repeated opportunities to practise teamwork and managed risk, to build independence, and to develop social and emotional skills in contexts that are hard to replicate in a classroom. That matters particularly for pupils who learn best through doing, and for families who value outdoors as a core part of childhood rather than a weekend add-on.

There is also evidence of broader enrichment in the wider curriculum, including visits and experiences that are memorable precisely because the whole school can share them. For a small primary, that whole-community participation is a real asset, and it can be more powerful than a long list of clubs.

The school day runs 9:00am to 3:30pm, which is 32.5 hours per week. The September 2025 newsletter also sets out a clear arrival routine, with the playground opening at 8:50am and punctuality expectations for registration.

Wraparound care is available. Breakfast club is listed as running 8:20am to 8:50am, and after-school club 3:30pm to 5:30pm, with a charge of £5 per child per hour for after-school club.

For transport, the rural setting means most families will think for village routes and drive times into the Buxton area. If you are coming from further afield, check winter travel resilience and what happens on days when rural roads are slow.

• Curriculum sequencing is a live improvement area. Recent external evaluation highlights that the curriculum, including mathematics, needs clearer definition of what pupils learn and when. For some children this will be invisible day to day, for others it can affect confidence when they move into Year 7.

• Behaviour expectations are not yet consistently embedded in lessons. The most recent inspection evidence points to low-level disruption during learning when expectations are not explicit. Ask what has changed since then, and how staff are aligning practice across the two-class structure.

• Micro-school dynamics are not for everyone. A tiny roll can be wonderful for belonging, but it can also feel socially narrow for some pupils, especially in years where the cohort is very small. This is worth exploring through visits and conversations with current parents.

• Admissions can fluctuate quickly. Even a handful of applications can mean oversubscription. Treat each intake as its own story, rather than assuming last year’s numbers will repeat.

Earl Sterndale CofE Primary School offers a rare combination: a very small rural primary, a historic listed building, and an outdoor curriculum that is planned and timetabled rather than occasional. The strongest fit is for families who want community familiarity, Christian ethos, and weekly outdoor learning as a core entitlement.

It best suits pupils who thrive in mixed-age groups, enjoy learning through practical activity, and benefit from clear routines and wellbeing language. The key due diligence is to understand how curriculum sequencing and classroom behaviour expectations are being tightened, particularly with a new headteacher in post.