Lydford Primary School

Lydford Primary School is rated as good in overall effectiveness, demonstrating a strong commitment to providing a high-quality education for its pupils. The school has excelled in creating a positive environment where pupils feel safe, valued, and encouraged to develop respectful relationships. Behaviour and attitudes are outstanding, contributing to a purposeful atmosphere for learning. Moreover, the school has implemented a well-designed and ambitious curriculum, particularly excelling in early reading and mathematics, ensuring that pupils develop key skills and knowledge effectively. Despite its strengths, there is a notable concern regarding the effectiveness of assessment in some wider curriculum subjects, which has led to gaps in pupils' learning and retention of knowledge. This suggests that while the overall infrastructure is solid, there is a need for improvement in how assessment is utilized across various subjects to ensure comprehensive learning. The school operates within the Dartmoor Multi-Academy Trust and maintains a focus on supporting pupils with special educational needs, ensuring they are included in the full curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils exhibit exemplary behaviour and attitudes.
• The school has high expectations for all pupils.
• Pupils feel safe and valued, contributing to a happy school environment.
• The curriculum is ambitious and well-designed, particularly in early reading and mathematics.
• Pupils with SEND receive effective support and learn the full curriculum.
• The school promotes strong relationships among pupils and inclusivity.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment in some wider curriculum subjects is not effectively used to check pupils' retention of knowledge.

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 Lydford Primary School attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 3.4% 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, 3.8% of pupils at Lydford 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 Lydford Primary School had 8.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.6% 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, 9.4% of pupils at Lydford Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.1% 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 Lydford Primary School received £12,741 and spent £12,700 for each of its 26 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £9,000 (£327 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust, income was £8,662 and spending £8,326 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 Okehampton · Devon local authority: places and applications

Lydford Primary School is part of Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust, which runs 19 schools. The nearest others:

• Bridestowe Primary School Okehampton
• Boasley Cross Community Primary School Okehampton
• Milton Abbot Primary School Tavistock
• Tavistock College Tavistock
• Okehampton College Okehampton
• The Promise School Okehampton
• Okehampton Primary School and Foundation Unit Okehampton
• St James Church of England Primary and Nursery School Okehampton
• Northlew and Ashbury Parochial Church of England Primary School Okehampton
• South Tawton Primary School Okehampton

What is Lydford Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Lydford Primary School is Good, from an inspection in November 2023.

When was Lydford Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Lydford Primary School was last inspected in November 2023.

How many pupils does Lydford Primary School have?

Lydford Primary School has 32 pupils on roll.

What age range does Lydford Primary School cover?

Lydford Primary School for pupils aged 2 to 11.

Where is Lydford Primary School?

Lydford Primary School is at School Road, Lydford, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 4AU.