Dorothy Barley Infants' School

Dorothy Barley Infants’ School continues to perform effectively, maintaining the strong standards established in previous inspections. The school fosters a nurturing environment where positive relationships between staff and students are evident. Pupils feel happy and safe, thriving in their supportive community. The curriculum is ambitious and engaging, and pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are achieving well across various subjects.

Strengths

• Strong relationships between staff and pupils
• Ambitious and well-structured curriculum
• Effective phonics and early reading instruction
• High expectations of behavior and achievement
• Strong support for vulnerable pupils, including those with SEND
• Engaged and proud pupils contributing actively to school life
• Effective personal development program

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent long-term recall and secure understanding of subject content in some areas

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 Dorothy Barley Infants' School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.0% 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, 0.4% of pupils at Dorothy Barley Infants' 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 Dorothy Barley Infants' School had 18.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.2% 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, 16.1% of pupils at Dorothy Barley Infants' School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.9% 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 Dorothy Barley Infants' School received £9,770 and spent £11,178 for each of its 209 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £708,000 (-£3,397 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

All schools in Barking And Dagenham · Barking and Dagenham local authority: places and applications

What is Dorothy Barley Infants' School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Dorothy Barley Infants' School is Good, from an inspection in September 2025.

When was Dorothy Barley Infants' School last inspected by Ofsted?

Dorothy Barley Infants' School was last inspected in September 2025.

How many pupils does Dorothy Barley Infants' School have?

Dorothy Barley Infants' School has 223 pupils on roll.

What age range does Dorothy Barley Infants' School cover?

Dorothy Barley Infants' School for pupils aged 3 to 7.

Where is Dorothy Barley Infants' School?

Dorothy Barley Infants' School is at Davington Road, Dagenham, Essex, RM8 2LL.