Dalmain Primary School

Dalmain Primary School is a warm and welcoming community primary where pupils flourish. Pupils behave exceptionally well, feel happy and safe, and benefit from strong personal development opportunities, including a wide range of clubs, leadership roles and enriching trips. Reading and writing are prioritised effectively, pupils achieve well in English and mathematics, and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified quickly and supported well. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, and leaders are ambitious for the school’s future. The school has a broad and engaging curriculum, but teaching does not consistently check what pupils already know, so pupils do not always deepen their understanding as well as they could. Some staff also need further training to implement the curriculum and wider leadership roles with the intended ambition. In the early years, the curriculum is not yet fully developed across all areas of learning, so children’s learning is not as broad as it might be. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and under the current framework it received no overall effectiveness grade.

Strengths

• Pupils behave extremely well in lessons and around the school.
• Pupils feel happy and safe and know who to talk to if worried.
• Warm and welcoming culture with positive pupil-staff relationships.
• Strong reading and language development, including well-targeted phonics.
• Pupils achieve well in English and mathematics.
• Broad and engaging curriculum enriched by visits, projects and performances.
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well.
• Wide range of high-quality clubs and leadership opportunities.
• Effective safeguarding arrangements.
• Leaders are highly ambitious and staff well-being is valued.
• Pupils leave well rounded and well prepared for the future.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching sometimes does not check accurately enough what pupils already know.
• Some teaching does not build effectively on pupils’ prior knowledge, limiting depth of understanding.
• Some staff lack the full knowledge and skills to implement the curriculum with the intended ambition.
• The early years curriculum is not yet fully developed across all areas of learning.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Dalmain Primary School attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.8% of pupils at Dalmain Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Dalmain Primary School had 19.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 36.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 14.2% of pupils at Dalmain Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Dalmain Primary School received £8,271 and spent £8,271 for each of its 378 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £117,000 (-£310 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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What is Dalmain Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Dalmain Primary School is Good, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Dalmain Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Dalmain Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Dalmain Primary School have?

Dalmain Primary School has 381 pupils on roll.

What age range does Dalmain Primary School cover?

Dalmain Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Dalmain Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 71% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Dalmain Primary School?

Dalmain Primary School is at Grove Close, Brockley Rise, London, SE23 1AS.