Rufford Primary and Nursery School
Hoewood Road, Bulwell, NG6 8LE
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sally Maddison
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Nottingham North and Kimberley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 472
- Pupils on roll
- 438
- URN
- 136232
- Local authority
- Nottingham
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01159155755
About this school
Rufford Primary and Nursery School is a community primary school in Bulwell. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 438 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Rufford Primary and Nursery School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 25 January 2024, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 51 | 51 | 53 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 53% | 53% | 49% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 67% | 69% | 68% |
| Expected standard in maths | 63% | 67% | 64% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 59% | 63% | 57% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 103.0 | 102.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 101.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.80 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Rufford Primary and Nursery School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Nottingham average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 53% | 55.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 53% | 57.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 49% | 57.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 413 |
| 2023/24 | 422 |
| 2024/25 | 423 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Rufford Primary and Nursery School compares
Rufford Primary and Nursery School ranked 66th of 75 primary schools in Nottingham for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 20% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49% | 5.7% | 54% | 438 | — |
| Bulwell St Mary's Primary and Nursery School | 55% | 6.1% | 51.5% | 221 | 0.4 miles |
| Crabtree Farm Primary School | 55% | 7.8% | 64.9% | 358 | 0.6 miles |
| Hempshill Hall Primary School | 66% | 5.3% | 26.7% | 400 | 0.7 miles |
| Cantrell Primary and Nursery School | — | 6% | — | 381 | 0.7 miles |
| Springfield Academy | 52% | 6.9% | 60.8% | 212 | 0.8 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 53.99%
- English as an additional language
- 18.9%
- Overall absence
- 5.67%
- Persistent absence
- 17.3%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bulwell St Mary's Primary and Nursery School0.4 miles
Primary · Nottingham
-
Crabtree Farm Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Nottingham
-
Hempshill Hall Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Nottingham
-
Cantrell Primary and Nursery School0.7 miles
Primary · Nottingham
-
Springfield Academy0.8 miles
Primary · Nottingham
Common questions
- What ages does Rufford Primary and Nursery School teach?
- Rufford Primary and Nursery School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Bulwell.
- Who is the headteacher of Rufford Primary and Nursery School?
- The headteacher of Rufford Primary and Nursery School is Mrs Sally Maddison, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Rufford Primary and Nursery School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Rufford Primary and Nursery School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Rufford Primary and Nursery School?
- Rufford Primary and Nursery School has 438 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Rufford Primary and Nursery School full?
- Rufford Primary and Nursery School has capacity for 472 pupils and 438 on roll (93%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Rufford Primary and Nursery School a faith school?
- No. Rufford Primary and Nursery School has no designated religious character.
- Does Rufford Primary and Nursery School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Rufford Primary and Nursery School as having nursery classes.
- How have Rufford Primary and Nursery School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 53% in 2022/23 and 49% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Rufford Primary and Nursery School compare with other schools in Nottingham?
- Rufford Primary and Nursery School ranked 66th of 75 primary schools in Nottingham for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 20% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Rufford Primary and Nursery School's absence rate?
- Rufford Primary and Nursery School's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Rufford Primary and Nursery School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Rufford Primary and Nursery School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 1 July 2026.