Filleigh Community Primary School

Filleigh Community Primary is a small, welcoming school where pupils feel happy, safe and valued. Inspectors found high expectations underpinned by the school’s values, positive attitudes to learning, a calm and orderly environment, warm relationships, and a strong start for children in the early years. Most pupils achieve well and are well prepared for the next stage of their education. The curriculum has been reviewed with federation leaders and is ambitious and sequenced, with reading a clear priority and effective phonics support for pupils who fall behind. Pupils benefit from personal development opportunities, including leadership roles and learning about British values. Safeguarding has a strong culture, although record-keeping is not always clear about the actions taken to keep pupils safe. Areas to improve include fully embedding the revised curriculum across all subjects so that historic knowledge gaps are closed and teaching consistently addresses misconceptions and matches pupils’ needs. A minority of pupils sometimes disrupt others’ learning, attendance work is ongoing, and safeguarding records need to be clearer and more coherent. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the pandemic, and it remains part of the Devon Moors Federation with a new head of school since September 2023.

Strengths

• Warm, inclusive small-school community where pupils feel happy and safe
• High expectations and clear values that promote resilience, creativity and independence
• Ambitious, sequentially planned curriculum reviewed with federation leaders
• Strong early reading provision, including daily phonics and prompt catch-up support
• Swift identification of pupils with SEND and appropriate support
• Calm and orderly environment with positive pupil attitudes and respectful relationships
• Good personal development through leadership roles, British values and broader experiences
• Strong safeguarding culture with prioritised training and prompt action
• Effective federation collaboration and engaged governors

Areas for Improvement

• Revised curriculum not yet fully embedded in all subjects, leaving historic knowledge gaps for some pupils
• Teaching sometimes does not address misconceptions or adapt learning to match pupils’ needs
• Assessment information is not always used effectively to ensure secure understanding
• A minority of pupils sometimes disturb others’ learning
• Attendance work is still developing to ensure all pupils attend regularly
• Safeguarding records sometimes lack clear accounts of actions taken to keep pupils safe

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 Filleigh Community Primary School attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 18.2% 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, 3.0% of pupils at Filleigh 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 Filleigh Community Primary School had 13.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.7% 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, 1.6% of pupils at Filleigh Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.9% 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.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Barnstaple · Devon local authority: places and applications

Filleigh Community Primary School is part of United Schools' Learning Partnership, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Copplestone Primary School Crediton
• Spreyton School Crediton
• Doddiscombsleigh Primary School Exeter
• Ipplepen Primary School Newton Abbot

What is Filleigh Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Filleigh Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in December 2024.

When was Filleigh Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Filleigh Community Primary School was last inspected in December 2024.

How many pupils does Filleigh Community Primary School have?

Filleigh Community Primary School has 61 pupils on roll.

What age range does Filleigh Community Primary School cover?

Filleigh Community Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 20% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Filleigh Community Primary School?

Filleigh Community Primary School is at Castle Hill, Filleigh, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32 0RS.