Dulverton Junior School

Dulverton Junior School is a small junior school within the Moorland Federation, sharing a site with the infant school. Leaders are ambitious and parents are positive about leadership, while pupils are happy, feel safe and respond well to the school’s calm, high expectations for behaviour. Behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership and management are good, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Pupils benefit from a broad, ambitious curriculum, strong reading provision, outdoor learning and a wide range of enrichment opportunities. The quality of education still requires improvement. Recent key stage 2 outcomes show that too many older pupils have not secured strong enough foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, and pupils have gaps in knowledge across the curriculum. Teaching varies in quality: learning is not always defined clearly or broken into manageable steps, and checks on pupils’ understanding are not regular or focused enough to adapt teaching effectively. As a result, recent curriculum improvements are not yet fully reflected in what pupils know and can do. The school is proactive in identifying and supporting the growing number of pupils with SEND, and most can learn alongside their peers. However, expectations for pupils with SEND are not consistently high enough, and targets are not always ambitious, measurable or regularly reviewed. Staff are not always confident in adapting the curriculum to meet these pupils’ needs, which limits the effectiveness of support in the classroom.

Strengths

• Leaders are ambitious for pupils and have driven significant improvement.
• Pupils are happy, feel safe and receive a warm welcome every day.
• Pupils respond positively to the school’s calm approach and follow the ‘ready, respectful and safe’ rules.
• Pupils form positive relationships with staff and peers and act as role models for younger pupils.
• The school provides rich enrichment, including residentials, cultural visits and outdoor learning such as Generation Exmoor.
• Reading is prioritised, with a well-resourced library and personalised phonics and fluency support.
• The curriculum has been radically overhauled and is now broad and ambitious, enriched by the locality.
• Staff feel well supported with workload and benefit from a comprehensive professional development programme.
• Pupils follow a well-considered PSHE programme and understand how to keep themselves safe online and in the community.
• Pupils behave well at social times and show kindness and teamwork.
• Many pupils participate in extra-curricular activities such as cheerleading, gymnastics, archery and cricket.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• The quality of education does not prepare pupils effectively enough for their next steps.
• Pupils have gaps in knowledge and struggle to talk confidently about their learning across the curriculum.
• Recent key stage 2 outcomes show too many pupils leave without strong foundations in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Teaching varies in quality and does not always define exactly what pupils will learn or break activities into manageable steps.
• Checks on pupils’ understanding are not regular or focused enough, so teaching is not always adapted appropriately.
• The impact of recent curriculum improvements is not yet fully realised in what pupils know and can do.
• Expectations of pupils with SEND are not consistently high enough.
• Some pupils with SEND do not have ambitious and measurable targets that are regularly reviewed.
• Staff are not always confident in adapting the curriculum to meet the needs of pupils with SEND.

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 Dulverton Junior School attended 88.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 37.8% 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, 4.5% of pupils at Dulverton Junior 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 Dulverton Junior School had 9.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 26.1% 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, 29.7% of pupils at Dulverton Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 13.5% 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 Dulverton Junior School received £12,279 and spent £13,113 for each of its 97 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £347,000 (-£3,574 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). This school files a single return with the other schools in its federation, so the figures are for the whole federation.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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What is Dulverton Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Dulverton Junior School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Dulverton Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Dulverton Junior School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Dulverton Junior School have?

Dulverton Junior School has 37 pupils on roll.

What age range does Dulverton Junior School cover?

Dulverton Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are Dulverton Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 59% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Dulverton Junior School?

Dulverton Junior School is at Fishers Mead, Dulverton, TA22 9EN.