Exeter Road Community Primary School

Exeter Road Community Primary School is a welcoming, inclusive primary in Exmouth that pupils enjoy attending. Behaviour and personal development are strong: pupils feel safe, trust staff, behave respectfully and benefit from a broad personal development programme including online safety, relationships, trips and careers inspiration. Early years provision is also a strength, with children getting a strong start, particularly in communication and language, and reading is a clear priority across the school. The main areas for improvement are the quality of education and leadership and management. Since the interim headteacher arrived in January 2024, leaders have reorganised the curriculum for mixed-aged classes and made significant improvements, but implementation remains at an early stage in much of the school. In some subjects, disciplinary knowledge is not clearly sequenced, assessment does not consistently identify misconceptions, and curriculum oversight is not yet mature enough to evaluate impact. Published 2024 Year 6 outcomes show too few pupils can write or apply mathematics well enough, and attendance has historically been too low, although it is improving. Governors are improving their challenge but do not yet have all the information or expertise to hold leaders fully to account. Safeguarding is effective, staff feel supported, and provision for pupils with SEND is accurately identified and generally well adapted. The school is part of a managed partnership led by First Federation Trust, and the interim headteacher works for that trust.

Strengths

• Welcoming and inclusive school where pupils feel safe and trust staff.
• Pupils behave well, understand the 'ready, respectful and safe' rules and show respect.
• Strong early years provision, especially in communication and language.
• Reading is a priority, with effective phonics support and reading for pleasure.
• Personal development is strong, including online safety, relationships, diversity and careers.
• Pupils with SEND are accurately identified and generally well supported.
• Curriculum has been reorganised and is broad and balanced, with improvements since the interim headteacher.
• Staff feel supported and leaders are mindful of workload.
• Attendance is improving through close work with families.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation in most of the school is at an early stage, so pupils struggle to remember what they have been taught.
• Key disciplinary knowledge is not clearly defined or sequenced in some subjects.
• Teachers' checks sometimes do not identify and address pupils' misconceptions.
• Assessment is not yet refined enough to build on prior knowledge and close gaps across the wider curriculum.
• Oversight and evaluation of the curriculum are underdeveloped in some subjects.
• Governors lack the knowledge and information to challenge leaders and hold them fully to account.
• Published 2024 Year 6 outcomes show too few pupils write or apply mathematics well enough.
• Attendance has historically been too low, although it is improving.

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 Exeter Road Community Primary School attended 92.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.3% 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, 2.1% of pupils at Exeter Road 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 Exeter Road Community Primary School had 20.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 26.5% 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, 26.5% of pupils at Exeter Road Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.6% 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 Exeter Road Community Primary School received £9,779 and spent £9,266 for each of its 162 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £4,000 (-£22 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 Exmouth · Devon local authority: places and applications

Exeter Road Community Primary School is part of The Avocet Learning Trust, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• Bassetts Farm Primary School Exmouth

What is Exeter Road Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Exeter Road Community Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in March 2025.

When was Exeter Road Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Exeter Road Community Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

How many pupils does Exeter Road Community Primary School have?

Exeter Road Community Primary School has 170 pupils on roll.

What age range does Exeter Road Community Primary School cover?

Exeter Road Community Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

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

In 2025, 8% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Exeter Road Community Primary School?

Exeter Road Community Primary School is at Exeter Road, Exmouth, Devon, EX8 1PU.