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The Sir Donald Bailey Academy

Primary Ages 2-11 507 pupils Newark
All schools in Newark

The Sir Donald Bailey Academy is an academy converter in Newark for pupils aged 2 to 11. It has 507 pupils on roll. In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Academy converter
Age Range 2-11
Religion Does not apply
Address Bailey Road
Newark
Nottinghamshire
NG24 4EP
Phone 01636680142
Reference Number 141760

General Makeup

Number of pupils 507
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 51.68%
Girls: 48.32%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 58.6%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 14.2%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 25.1
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 22.6
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 27.1

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 27 21 48
2 30 22 52
3 26 32 58
4 36 35 71
5 33 34 67
6 37 38 75

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 81.1%
White, Other 10.8%
Chinese 2%
African 1.2%
White & Black (Caribbean) 0.8%
White & Asian 0.8%
Asian, Other 0.6%
Mixed, Other 0.4%
Indian 0.2%
Unclassified 0.2%

Overall Ofsted Rating
Last Report Date 20 Jun 2023 – no overall grade published for this inspection
Date Report
20 Jun 2023 School inspection
08 Oct 2020 Monitoring visit
07 Feb 2018 Short inspection
04 Mar 2015 Academy conversion letter
30 Sep 2014 Full inspection:
Previously as Bowbridge Primary School
15 Jan 2013 Interim assessment
17 Nov 2009 Full inspection:
17 Nov 2008 Curriculum and development visit
27 Jun 2008 Curriculum and development visit
10 Jul 2007 Full inspection:
07 Jun 2007 Curriculum and development visit
09 Dec 2002 Full inspection

Ofsted Parent View

The latest published parent view scores are from 2022. Ofsted only publish scores if there have been more than 10 responses to the survey.

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree Don't Know Total Responses
1. My child is happy at this school. 33 19 5 2 0 59
2. My child feels safe at this school. 37 15 5 1 1 59
3. The school makes sure its pupils are well behaved. 25 21 4 5 4 59
4. My child has been bullied and the school dealt with the bullying quickly and effectively. 35 5 5 7 3 4
5. The school makes me aware of what my child will learn during the year. 34 20 5 0 0 59
6. When I have raised concerns with the school they have been dealt with properly. 13 21 12 6 5 2
7. My child has SEND, and the school gives them the support they need to succeed. 11 4 6 2 0 23
8. The school has high expectations for my child. 24 23 6 2 4 59
9. My child does well at this school. 28 25 2 2 2 59
10. The school lets me know how my child is doing. 26 25 6 2 0 59
11. There is a good range of subjects available to my child at this school. 32 23 3 1 0 59
12. My child can take part in clubs and activities at this school. 26 19 7 4 3 59
13. The school supports my child’s wider personal development. 27 19 5 3 5 59
14. I would recommend this school to another parent. 44 15

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 75%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 0%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 105
Maths 105

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 4.1
Writing 4.5
Maths 3.1

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 7 0
Third Preference 8 0
From another Local Authority 0 0

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 The Sir Donald Bailey Academy had 434 pupils for 525 places. 91 places (17.3%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Newark Town” planning area

Nottinghamshire counted 349 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 325 in 2029–30, down 7%.

2015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Places 576578578578576576576576525525
Pupils 425421427450438462466468452434
Unfilled 26.2%27.2%26.1%22.1%24.0%19.8%19.1%18.8%13.9%17.3%

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 The Sir Donald Bailey Academy attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

201620172018201920212022202320242025
Authorised absence 3.0%2.5%2.7%3.4%9.5%5.3%4.6%4.1%4.5%
Unauthorised absence 0.8%0.9%1.2%1.3%1.0%1.8%1.4%1.3%1.4%
Severely absent pupils 0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.2%0.5%0.2%0.0%0.0%

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, 1.7% of pupils at The Sir Donald Bailey Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

2016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 0.80.21.41.50.91.83.40.71.53.3
Permanent exclusions 0000000000

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 The Sir Donald Bailey Academy had 18.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

20162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 9.710.211.69.89.59.78.88.98.39.18.7
Teachers who left state teaching 0.0%0.0%7.0%6.7%8.5%5.6%13.2%10.4%3.0%10.0%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 20.6%22.6%22.7%34.5%–37.8%34.1%64.9%39.4%68.8%–
Sick days per teacher 0.51.50.41.1–4.92.06.61.55.8–

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, 15.8% of pupils at The Sir Donald Bailey Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.2% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Speech, language and communication needs 26 2
Social, emotional and mental health 25 0
Autistic spectrum disorder 11 3
Moderate learning difficulty 7 0
Physical disability 3 1
Hearing impairment 3 0
Specific learning difficulty 3 0
Vision impairment 2 0

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 The Sir Donald Bailey Academy received £7,651 and spent £7,356 for each of its 492 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £385,000 (£784 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of The Forge Trust, income was £7,103 and spending £7,084 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

2019202020212022202320242025
Revenue reserve £627,000£476,000£663,000£374,000£325,000£265,000£385,000
per pupil £1,295£939£1,283£722£626£532£784
In-year balance £441,000-£186,000£122,000-£175,000-£46,000-£1,000£145,000
per pupil £911-£367£235-£338-£89-£2£295

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.

Name Distance
The King's Church of England Primary Academy
Holden Crescent, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 4HU
0.43 miles
Holy Trinity Catholic Voluntary Academy
Boundary Road, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 4AU
0.76 miles
Highfields School
London Road, Newark, NG24 3AL
0.81 miles
John Hunt Academy
London Road, New Balderton, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 3BN
0.87 miles
Christ Church C of E Primary School
Flaxley Lane, Middlebeck, Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire, NG24 3XB
0.9 miles
Barnby Road Academy Primary and Nursery school
John Gold Avenue, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1RU
0.96 miles
Mount CofE Primary School
Kings Road, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1EW
1.2 miles
Chuter Ede Primary School
Wolfit Avenue, Balderton, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 3PQ
1.31 miles
Newark Flying High Academy
Warburton Street, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 1LT
1.43 miles
St Peter's Crosskeys CofE Academy
Sandhill Road, Farndon, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 4TE
1.62 miles
Bishop Alexander L.E.A.D. Academy
Wolsey Road, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 2BQ
2.3 miles
Coddington CofE Primary and Nursery School
Brownlows Hill, Coddington, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 2QA
2.42 miles
Winthorpe Primary School
Thoroughfare Lane, Winthorpe, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 2NN
3.27 miles
All Saints Anglican/Methodist Primary School
Top Street, Elston, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG23 5NP
3.6 miles
The Claypole Church of England Primary School
School Lane, Claypole, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG23 5BQ
3.69 miles
Muskham Primary School
Main Street, North Muskham, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG23 6HD
4.08 miles
Name Distance
Magnus Church of England Academy
Earp Avenue, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 4AB
0.59 miles
Newark Orchard School
London Road, Balderton, Newark, NG24 3AL
0.86 miles
The Newark Academy
London Road, Balderton, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 3AL
0.92 miles
Hope House School
Barnby Road, Balderton, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 3NE
1.36 miles
The Suthers School
Cross Lane, Fernwood, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 3NH
1.86 miles

All schools in Newark · Nottinghamshire local authority: places and applications

The Sir Donald Bailey Academy is part of The Forge Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

How many pupils does The Sir Donald Bailey Academy have?

The Sir Donald Bailey Academy has 507 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Sir Donald Bailey Academy cover?

The Sir Donald Bailey Academy for pupils aged 2 to 11.

What are The Sir Donald Bailey Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is The Sir Donald Bailey Academy?

The Sir Donald Bailey Academy is at Bailey Road, Newark, Nottinghamshire, NG24 4EP.

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