Gatehouse Primary Academy

Gatehouse Primary Academy demonstrates strong leadership and a commitment to personal development, resulting in a safe and inclusive environment for pupils. The school has a comprehensive personal development programme that fosters pupils' emotional well-being and equips them to navigate challenges beyond the classroom. While attendance and behavior are encouraging, with positive relationships evident, academic performance, particularly in writing, has shown inconsistencies, prompting leaders to take further action to address these concerns.

Strengths

• A strong emphasis on personal development and emotional well-being.
• Excellent pastoral support fostering a sense of belonging.
• Comprehensive personal, social, and health education curriculum.
• Effective tracking and support mechanisms for attendance and behavior.
• Welcoming early years environment with a focus on individual needs.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils do not consistently secure important early skills, particularly in writing.
• Learning is not always adapted closely enough to meet pupils' starting points.

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 Gatehouse Primary Academy attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 14.1% 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, 0.0% of pupils at Gatehouse Primary Academy 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 Gatehouse Primary Academy had 23.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.0% 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, 18.2% of pupils at Gatehouse Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.4% 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 2024–25 Gatehouse Primary Academy received £6,635 and spent £6,793 for each of its 316 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £87,000 (£277 per pupil).

Across all 29 schools of The First Federation Trust, income was £7,461 and spending £7,535 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 Dawlish · Devon local authority: places and applications

Gatehouse Primary Academy is part of The First Federation Trust, which runs 29 schools. The nearest others:

• Westcliff Primary Academy Dawlish
• Brixington Primary Academy Exmouth
• Lady Seaward's Church of England Primary School Exeter
• Chudleigh Knighton Church of England Primary School Newton Abbot
• Blackpool Church of England Primary School Newton Abbot
• Rockbeare Church of England Primary School and Pre-School Exeter
• Sidmouth Church of England Primary School Sidmouth
• Willowbank Primary School Cullompton
• Colyton Primary Academy Colyton
• Musbury Primary School Axminster

What is Gatehouse Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Gatehouse Primary Academy is Needs attention, from an inspection in May 2026.

When was Gatehouse Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Gatehouse Primary Academy was last inspected in May 2026.

How many pupils does Gatehouse Primary Academy have?

Gatehouse Primary Academy has 314 pupils on roll.

What age range does Gatehouse Primary Academy cover?

Gatehouse Primary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Gatehouse Primary Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 57% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Gatehouse Primary Academy?

Gatehouse Primary Academy is at Secmaton Lane, Dawlish, Devon, EX7 0LW.