Dale Community Primary School

Dale Community Primary School continues to perform well as a good educational institution. Pupils report feeling happy and safe within a welcoming and inclusive environment, signaling strong support from staff and effective pastoral care. The curriculum emphasizes language development, with a particular focus on supporting pupils learning English as an additional language, which contributes to a positive learning atmosphere. However, challenges remain in ensuring consistent attendance among all students, impacting their overall academic achievement.

Strengths

• Pupils appreciate the care and support from the school.
• The school promotes a culture of inclusivity for all students.
• High expectations for behavior and academic performance are set and adhered to.
• The phonics program effectively supports students' reading development.
• Strong pastoral support is provided, especially for vulnerable students.
• Pupils develop a firm understanding of difference and diversity.

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching does not always make explicit links to key knowledge, leading to gaps in understanding.
• The curriculum refinements in some subjects are too new to show full impact.
• The number of pupils regularly absent is too high, affecting their 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 Dale Community Primary School attended 92.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 24.9% 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, 0.5% of pupils at Dale Community 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 Dale Community Primary School had 22.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.0% 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, 15.0% of pupils at Dale Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.4% 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 Dale Community Primary School received £7,680 and spent £7,378 for each of its 545 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £241,000 (£442 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 Derby · Derby local authority: places and applications

What is Dale Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Dale Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Dale Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Dale Community Primary School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Dale Community Primary School have?

Dale Community Primary School has 545 pupils on roll.

What age range does Dale Community Primary School cover?

Dale Community Primary School for pupils aged 5 to 11.

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

In 2025, 53% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Dale Community Primary School?

Dale Community Primary School is at Porter Road, Derby, Derbyshire, DE23 6NL.