Mowden Junior School

Mowden Junior School is performing well overall, with safeguarding standards met and several areas of its work judged to be strong. Attendance and behaviour, inclusion, and personal development and wellbeing are particular strengths. Pupils are happy, safe, polite and respectful, and they benefit from a warm, supportive ethos, strong pastoral care and a wide range of wider opportunities. The school has a strong sense of community, and staff work closely with families and external specialists to support pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. Achievement, curriculum and teaching, and leadership and governance are judged at the expected standard. The majority of pupils achieve very well by the end of key stage 2, with outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics consistently above national averages, and disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND also achieve well. The new headteacher, appointed in September 2025, is building on existing strengths, and the school’s partnership with the Northern Arch Learning Partnership is strengthening leadership and providing useful training and challenge. There are still areas for improvement. Some pupils do not develop secure foundational skills in spelling, handwriting, number formation and vocabulary, and teaching does not consistently identify and address these gaps. Some pupils in lower key stage 2 do not develop spelling and aspects of writing as well as their peers, and leaders’ actions have not yet fully improved teaching and achievement in all areas. However, leaders have a clear trajectory for improvement and are taking purposeful action.

Strengths

• Attendance and punctuality are high, with successful strategies and support for vulnerable pupils.
• Pupils behave consistently well, are polite and kind, and bullying is rare.
• Inclusion is placed at the centre of the school’s work, with effective support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils.
• Personal development and wellbeing provision is coherent, broad and inclusive.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of clubs, activities, competitive sport and leadership opportunities.
• Pupils achieve significantly above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of key stage 2.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND make good progress from their starting points.
• Leaders, governors and the trust provide clear direction, support and challenge.
• Staff feel valued and respected, and parents overwhelmingly recommend the school.
• The school has a warm, supportive and respectful ethos with strong pastoral care.

Areas for Improvement

• Some pupils do not acquire secure foundational knowledge in spelling, handwriting, number formation and vocabulary.
• Teaching does not consistently identify and address gaps in foundational knowledge for some pupils.
• Some pupils in lower key stage 2 do not develop spelling and aspects of writing as well as their peers.
• Leaders’ actions have not yet fully improved teaching and achievement in all areas.
• High standards seen in the best of the school’s work are not yet consistent across all year groups.

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 Mowden Junior School attended 96.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 2.8% 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, 0.3% of pupils at Mowden 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 Mowden Junior School had 23.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 17.3% 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, 9.8% of pupils at Mowden Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.4% 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 2023–24 Mowden Junior School received £5,798 and spent £5,873 for each of its 342 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £624,000 (£1,825 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Northern Arch Learning Partnership, income was £7,412 and spending £7,665 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Darlington · Darlington local authority: places and applications

Mowden Junior School is part of Northern Arch Learning Partnership, which runs 6 schools. The nearest others:

• Mowden Infant School Darlington
• Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College Darlington
• Longfield Academy Darlington
• The Rydal Academy Darlington
• Hurworth School Darlington

What is Mowden Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Mowden Junior School is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Mowden Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

Mowden Junior School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Mowden Junior School have?

Mowden Junior School has 295 pupils on roll.

What age range does Mowden Junior School cover?

Mowden Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

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

In 2025, 77% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Mowden Junior School?

Mowden Junior School is at Conyers Avenue, Darlington, County Durham, DL3 9DE.