Colyton Primary Academy

Colyton Primary Academy is performing well and was judged good in all inspected areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This was the school's first graded inspection under section 5 since it became an academy in 2020 as part of The First Federation Trust; its predecessor school had previously been judged inadequate. Inspectors found a friendly, caring school where pupils meet high expectations, behave well, and benefit from strong pastoral support and a well-designed curriculum.

Strengths

• Pupils are friendly, happy and eager to learn in a caring school community
• High expectations help pupils persist with difficult work and become independent learners
• Strong pastoral care is valued highly by parents and helps pupils thrive
• Pupils behave well and show kindness and empathy towards others
• The curriculum is carefully designed with clear knowledge and ambitious vocabulary
• Tailored professional development supports effective teaching across the school
• Reading has a sharp focus, with pupils becoming confident, fluent readers
• Attendance has improved markedly through strong relationships with parents
• Pupils with SEND receive high-quality support to meet their needs
• Personal development is well designed and prepares pupils for life and work
• Staff feel well supported by the school and trust, with workload and wellbeing considered
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, staff checks on pupils' understanding are not used effectively to inform future learning
• Some pupils have gaps in learning or misconceptions that go unaddressed, including gaps in number fluency in mathematics

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 Colyton Primary Academy attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.9% 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 Colyton 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 Colyton Primary Academy had 19.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.9% 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, 15.3% of pupils at Colyton Primary Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 5.3% 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 Colyton Primary Academy received £7,313 and spent £7,453 for each of its 139 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £38,000 (£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 East Devon · Devon local authority: places and applications

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

• Musbury Primary School Axminster
• Axminster Community Primary Academy Axminster
• Mrs Ethelston's CofE Primary Academy Lyme Regis
• Membury Primary Academy Axminster
• Hawkchurch Church of England School Axminster
• Charmouth Primary School Bridport
• St Andrew's CofE Primary Academy Axminster
• Sidmouth Church of England Primary School Sidmouth
• Marshwood CofE Primary Academy Bridport
• Thorncombe, St Mary's Church of England Primary Academy Thorncombe

What is Colyton Primary Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Colyton Primary Academy is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Colyton Primary Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Colyton Primary Academy was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Colyton Primary Academy have?

Colyton Primary Academy has 150 pupils on roll.

What age range does Colyton Primary Academy cover?

Colyton Primary Academy for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Colyton Primary Academy?

Colyton Primary Academy is at The Butts, West Street, Colyton, Devon, EX24 6NU.