Code: E10000007
Director of Children's Services: Alison Noble


Summary of Ofsted findings

Summary of Ofsted findings

Inspection of Derbyshire’s local authority children’s services

These inspections focus on the effectiveness of local authority services and arrangements:

  • to help and protect children, and enable families to stay together and get the help they need
  • the experiences and progress of children in care wherever they live, including those children who return home
  • the arrangements for permanence for children who are looked after, in stable, loving homes, including adoption
  • the experiences and progress of care leavers.
Inspection type Inspection start date Overall effectiveness Impact of leaders Help and protection Children in care Care leavers
ILACS Short Inspection 8 July 2019 Requires improvement to be good Good Requires improvement to be good Requires improvement to be good No outcome
ILACS Standard Inspection 30 October 2023 Good Good Good Good Good

Data source

Area SEND inspection of Derbyshire Local Area Partnership

The purpose of an area SEND inspection is to:

  • provide an independent, external evaluation of the effectiveness of the local area partnership’s arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)
  • where appropriate, recommend what the local area partnership should do to improve the arrangements.
Inspection outcome

Derbyshire was last inspected on 23 September 2024.

There are widespread and/or systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, which the local area partnership must address urgently. The local area partnership must prepare and submit a priority area SEND action plan addressing the areas for priority action that we identified.

They were given 6 areas for priority action.

A monitoring inspection will be carried out within approximately 18 months. The next full area SEND inspection will be within approximately 3 years.

Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) ask that the local area partnership updates and publishes its strategic plan based on the recommendations set out in this report.

Data source

Joint targeted area inspection of Derbyshire local authority

The agencies for these inspections can include the police, children’s social care, probation services, education and relevant health services. Inspectors will also evaluate how local agencies work with education and childcare providers. The focus of these inspections is how effectively the local safeguarding partners work together at the practice and strategic levels.

Theme Inspection start date Link
There have been no JTAI inspections for this local authority.

Data source

Ofsted inspection reports and tools


Local authority context

Population 18 and under Number %
Derbyshire 164,708 20.0%
National 12,869,368 22.0%

Data source

Children looked after Number Rate per 10,000
Derbyshire 1,024 66
National 81,770 67

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School-age pupils eligible for free school meals Number %
Derbyshire 30,369 30.3%
National 2,085,168 26.7%

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School-age pupils eligible for extra funding (pupil premium) Number %
Derbyshire 32,290 32.4%
National 2,266,608 29.3%

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in state-funded settings Number %
Derbyshire 22,996 20.6%
National 1,766,924 19.6%

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School-age pupils with English as an additional language Number %
Derbyshire 4,695 4.3%
National 1,806,029 21.4%

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% of children in income-deprived families (IDACI) Average %
Derbyshire 31.0%
National 38.0%
Health Index (children and young people) Health Index score
Derbyshire 108.7
National 100.8
More details about the health index metric

Indicates the health of an area measured in three domains: Healthy People, Health Lives and Healthy Places.

A score of 100 represents health in England in 2015. A higher number means better health and a lower number means worse health.

Data source

Remit overview

Contents

Early years

Population Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire % National
Aged 0 to 5 years 46,430 5.6% 6.4%
Aged 0 6,995 0.9% 1.0%
Aged 1 7,418 0.9% 1.0%
Aged 2 7,793 0.9% 1.1%
Aged 3 7,857 1.0% 1.1%
Aged 4 7,994 1.0% 1.1%
Aged 5 8,373 1.0% 1.1%

Data source

Disadvantaged Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire % National
Early years pupil premium 1,660 3.6% 3.3%
Children looked after (under 1 year) 79 1.1% 0.6%
Children looked after (1 to 4 years) 122 0.4% 0.4%

Data sources:

Special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) /
Education, health and care plans (EHCP)
Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire % National
SEN support in state-funded settings (age 2 and under) 44 0.2% 0.3%
SEN support in state-funded settings (age 3) 330 4.2% 3.7%
SEN support in state-funded settings (age 4) 899 11.2% 9.4%
SEN support in state-funded settings (age 5) 1,179 14.1% 12.1%
Total: SEN support in state-funded settings (age 5 and under) 2,452 5.3% 4.5%
Children with an EHCP (age 2 and under) 7 0.0% 0.0%
Children with an EHCP (age 3) 47 0.6% 0.7%
Children with an EHCP (age 4) 200 2.5% 3.5%
Children with an EHCP (age 5) 324 3.9% 4.7%
Total: Children with an EHCP (age 5 and under) 578 1.2% 1.6%

Data sources:

Funded early years places for 2-year-olds Population aged 2-years-old Number of eligible 2-year-olds % of population aged 2 % take-up of funded places
Derbyshire 7,793 1,715 22.0% 57.7%
National 630,059 145,824 23.1% 65.2%

Data source

Funded early years places for 3-year-olds Population aged 3-years-old Number of eligible 3-year-olds % of population aged 3 % take-up of funded places
Derbyshire 7,857 All 3-year olds are eligible 93.6%
National 625,948 90.6%
The 2 and 3-year-old funded places tables look different because they measure different things; funded places for 2-year-olds are only for children considered to be disadvantaged, while for 3-year-olds everyone is entitled to a funded place.

Data source

Children's overweight and obesity Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire % National
Children's overweight and obesity (reception-age children) 1,685 24.2% 23.5%

Data source

Oral health Number examined in Derbyshire % examined in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire % National
Oral health (visible tooth decay in 5-year-olds) 1,965 23.8% 16.6% 22.4%

Schools

Population Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire1 % National1
Primary-age pupils (ages 5 to 11) 61,280 7.5% 8.2%
Secondary-age pupils (ages 12 to 16) 47,634 5.8% 6.2%

Data source

Population of looked-after-children Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire1 % National1
Ages 5 to 9 176 0.4% 0.4%
Ages 10 to 15 386 0.7% 0.7%

Data source

Pupils eligible for free schools meals Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire2 % National2
Primary 17,168 29.7% 25.3%
Secondary 12,259 30.0% 27.5%
Alternative provision 303 76.7% 64.6%
Special 635 52.9% 49.5%
Non-maintained special 31.0%

Data source

Pupils eligible for pupil premium Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire2 % National2
Primary 16,780 29.3% 25.1%
Secondary 13,122 30.9% 28.9%

Data source

Pupils with SEND Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire2 % National2
Primary 11,817 19.8% 18.2%
Secondary 8,280 18.0% 16.5%
Alternative provision 391 99.0% 83.4%
Special 1,346 98.0% 99.9%
Non-maintained special 99.7%
Independent schools 1,072 27.8% 24.1%

Data source

Pupils with English as an additional language Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire2 % National2
Primary 3,031 5.1% 23.4%
Secondary 1,570 3.4% 19.2%
Alternative provision 4 1.0% 7.6%
Special 69 5.0% 14.5%
Non-maintained special 11.0%
Attendance of all pupils up to week 4 of calendar year % in Derbyshire2 % National2
Primary 95.3% 95.0%
Secondary 91.9% 91.8%
Special 89.5% 87.1%

Data source

Attendance of pupils eligible for free school meals (summer term 2024/25) % in Derbyshire2 % National2
Primary 92.7% 91.9%
Secondary 85.6% 85.2%
Special 88.4% 85.1%

Data source

Attendance of pupils with SEND (summer term 2024/25) % in Derbyshire2 % National2
Primary 92.3% 92.1%
Secondary 83.5% 84.3%
Special 89.3% 87.3%

Data source

Primary attainment: Year 1 phonics screening pass Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire2 % National2
All pupils 6,147 78.2% 79.8%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 1,304 62.6% 66.6%
Pupils with SEND 604 40.8% 43.4%
Pupils with English as an additional language 318 77.0% 79.5%
Primary attainment: Year 4 times table check (full marks) Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire2 % National2
All pupils 2,587 30.4% 36.8%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 586 21.2% 27.4%
Pupils with SEND 251 13.0% 16.5%
Pupils with English as an additional language 174 42.2% 45.2%

Data source

Primary attainment: Key stage 2 reading, writing, maths combined (met the expected standard) Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire2 % National2
All pupils 4,943 58.6% 62.6%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 1,269 44.1% 47.7%
Pupils with SEND 455 22.4% 23.8%
Pupils with English as an additional language 202 52.1% 66.2%

Data source

Secondary attainment: Attainment 8 Average in Derbyshire2 National average2
All pupils 44.9 45.9
Pupils eligible for free school meals 34.0 35.0
Pupils with SEND 28.6 28.1

Data source

Population receiving education outside of their local authority Number outside of Derbyshire % outside of Derbyshire2 % National2
Primary 3,089 5.4% 4.1%
Secondary 4,006 9.4% 8.7%
Special 288 23.2% 9.0%
Children being home educated Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire1 % National1
Primary 480 0.8% 0.8%
Secondary 1,540 3.2% 2.5%
Total 1,990 1.8% 1.5%
More details about the children being home educated numbers
Local authority data in the source dataset has been rounded to the nearest 10. As a result totals may not equal the sum of their component parts.

Data source

Suspensions (from primary school) Number in Derbyshire Rate per 100 pupils in Derbyshire3 Rate per 100 pupils National3
Total number of suspensions 632 1.1 0.9
Total pupils with one or more suspensions 357 0.6 0.5
Pupils with one or more suspensions who are eligible for free school meals 229 1.4 (in group) 1.2 (in group)
Pupils with one or more suspensions with SEND 302 2.7 (in group) 2.4 (in group)
More details about suspensions from state-funded primary schools and totals not summing
Suspensions data on total number of pupils may not match, as a change in a pupil’s category within the same term results in them being counted separately under each category. For example, if a pupil receives multiple suspensions while classified as not having SEN, and then receives additional suspensions after being reclassified as receiving SEN support during the same term, they will be recorded as two separate enrolments in the data.

Data source

Suspensions (from secondary school) Number in Derbyshire Rate per 100 pupils in Derbyshire3 Rate per 100 pupils National3
Total number of suspensions 4,206 9.1 7.8
Total pupils with one or more suspensions 1,799 3.9 3.8
Pupils with one or more suspensions who are eligible for free school meals 1,127 8.9 (in group) 8.2 (in group)
Pupils with one or more suspensions with SEND 796 9.8 (in group) 9.1 (in group)
More details about suspensions from state-funded secondary schools and totals not summing
Suspensions data on total number of pupils may not match, as a change in a pupil’s category within the same term results in them being counted separately under each category. For example, if a pupil receives multiple suspensions while classified as not having SEN, and then receives additional suspensions after being reclassified as receiving SEN support during the same term, they will be recorded as two separate enrolments in the data.

Data source

Suspensions (from special school) Number in Derbyshire Rate per 100 pupils in Derbyshire3 Rate per 100 pupils National3
Total number of suspensions 18 1.3 5.1
Total pupils with one or more suspensions 13 1.0 2.9
Pupils with one or more suspensions who are eligible for free school meals 5 0.7 (in group) 4.1 (in group)
Pupils with one or more suspensions with SEND 13 1.0 (in group) 2.9 (in group)
More details about suspensions from state-funded special schools and totals not summing
Suspensions data on total number of pupils may not match, as a change in a pupil’s category within the same term results in them being counted separately under each category. For example, if a pupil receives multiple suspensions while classified as not having SEN, and then receives additional suspensions after being reclassified as receiving SEN support during the same term, they will be recorded as two separate enrolments in the data.

Data source

Exclusions (from primary school) Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire2 % National2
Total number of pupils excluded 16 0.0% 0.0%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 12 0.1% 0.0%
Pupils with SEND 12 0.1% 0.1%

Data source

Exclusions (from secondary school) Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire2 % National2
Total number of pupils excluded 36 0.1% 0.1%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 24 0.2% 0.2%
Pupils with SEND 20 0.2% 0.3%

Data source

Exclusions (from special school) Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire2 % National2
Total number of pupils excluded 0 0.0% 0.0%
Pupils eligible for free school meals 0 0.0% 0.0%
Pupils with SEND 0 0.0% 0.0%

1. % of all children in Derbyshire / England.

2. % of all pupils in state-funded settings across Derbyshire / England.

3. Rate per 100 pupils in state-funded settings across Derbyshire / England.

Further education and skills

Population Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire % National
Aged 16 to 18 years 27,386 3.3% 3.6%
Aged 19 to 21 years 18,217 2.2% 3.6%
Aged 22 to 24 years 23,437 2.8% 3.6%
Aged 25 years and over 616,015 74.9% 70.8%

Data source

Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) Number in Derbyshire % in Derbyshire % National
16- to 17-year-olds known to LA 17,531 2.3% 2.4%
NEET 558 3.2% 3.4%
Activity not known 734 4.2% 2.2%
Total NEET or activity not known 1,292 7.4% 5.6%

Data source

16 to 18 progression to higher education or training % in Derbyshire % National
Degrees (all) 65.0% 66.0%
Degrees at top third higher education institutions 24.0% 24.0%
Higher apprenticeships 3.0% 2.0%
Other study at level 4 and 5 3.0% 3.0%
Progressing to higher education or training 71.0% 70.0%
More details about the further education and skills destinations data

This data reflects the destinations of pupils based on the number on roll when they were aged 16 to 18, tracking where they progressed after completing their studies.

Degree destinations include any study at level 6 or higher such as bachelor degrees, graduate diplomas, and post-graduate degrees. The top third higher education institutions when ranked by average UCAS tariff score of entrants across their best 3 A levels.

Higher apprenticeships are those from level 4 to 7 and are equivalent to a foundation degree and above. Degree apprenticeships are available at levels 6 and 7.

Other study at level 4 or 5 destinations include those students studying qualifications such as foundation degrees, Higher National Certificates (HNCs) and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs).

Data source

Social care

Explore the findings from Ofsted's local authority inspections.

Explore population characteristics for this local authority.