St Margaret's Church of England Junior School

This is a Church of England junior school that has recently emerged from a turbulent period of leadership change and is now supported by the Harbour Schools Partnership. Safeguarding is effective, pupils say they feel safe, and personal development and wellbeing are clear strengths: pupils are confident, articulate and spiritually aware, and they benefit from debating, music, swimming, surfing and a wide range of clubs. Behaviour is also a strength, with polite pupils and quick staff support when incidents occur, and reading is well led, including swift phonics help for pupils who need to catch up. However, most other areas need attention. Published outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics are below national averages, and too many pupils leave without the foundational knowledge and skills needed for the next stage. Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND make weaker progress than they should, teaching expectations and assessment use are too variable, and support plans are not consistently applied. Attendance is well below national average and persistent absence is high; leaders have new monitoring and parent-engagement work in place but impact is not yet evident. There are also too many suspensions. New leaders, with trust support, have correctly identified priorities and stabilised the school, and staff feel supported. Governance has not challenged improvement work with enough rigour or timeliness, and the impact of recent changes is not yet visible in pupils' outcomes. The school is therefore in a period of rebuilding, with clear strengths in personal development, behaviour and reading but significant work still needed on achievement, inclusion, attendance and the precision of teaching.

Strengths

• Safeguarding arrangements are effective and pupils feel safe.
• Personal development and wellbeing provision is ambitious and helps pupils become confident and articulate.
• Pupils have strong self-awareness and an understanding of diversity and protected characteristics.
• Spirituality has a high profile, including family worship groups and older pupils acting as role models.
• Debating is central and builds confidence, oracy and understanding of British values.
• All pupils learn a musical instrument and can access swimming, surfing and a wide range of clubs.
• Behaviour is a strength: pupils are polite, kind and play well together.
• Staff are quick to support pupils when poor behaviour occurs, and pupils report no bullying.
• The reading curriculum is a strength, with swift phonics support for pupils who need it.
• Pupils discuss wider-curriculum learning eloquently and show secure understanding of timelines and historical periods.
• Leaders support staff workload and wellbeing, and staff value trust professional networks.
• Parents are supportive and find staff approachable.

Areas for Improvement

• Published outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics are below national averages.
• Too many pupils are not ready for the next stage of education.
• The quality of pupils' work is too variable and foundational knowledge gaps persist.
• Age-appropriate spelling and grammar are not secure for too many pupils.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND do not make suitable progress from their starting points.
• Academic expectations for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND are not high enough.
• Teachers' expectations and assessment and feedback are too variable and lack precision.
• Teachers do not consistently use pupils' starting points or assessment to adapt learning.
• Support plans for pupils with SEND are not consistently implemented across subjects.
• Pupil premium targets have been too broad and impact checks insufficient.
• Attendance is well below national average and persistent absence is high.
• Too many suspensions remain, although behaviour overall is good.
• Governance has not challenged school and trust leaders with enough timeliness or rigour.
• The impact of recent leadership changes and improvement strategies is not yet evident.

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 St Margaret's Church of England Junior School attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 17.8% 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, 4.0% of pupils at St Margaret's Church of England 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 St Margaret's Church of England Junior School had 19.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.0% 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, 17.9% of pupils at St Margaret's Church of England Junior School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.1% 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 St Margaret's Church of England Junior School received £6,724 and spent £7,562 for each of its 201 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £130,000 (£645 per pupil).

Across all 35 schools of The Harbour Schools Partnership, income was £6,261 and spending £6,333 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.

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All schools in Bideford · Devon local authority: places and applications

St Margaret's Church of England Junior School is part of The Harbour Schools Partnership, which runs 36 schools. The nearest others:

• St George's CofE Infant and Nursery School Bideford
• St Mary's CofE Primary School Bideford
• Fremington Primary School Barnstaple
• Roundswell Community Primary Academy Barnstaple
• Sticklepath Community Primary Academy Barnstaple
• Holywell Church of England School Barnstaple
• Georgeham Church of England Primary School Braunton
• Pilton Community College Barnstaple
• The Park Community School Barnstaple
• Ashleigh CofE Primary School Barnstaple

What is St Margaret's Church of England Junior School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Margaret's Church of England Junior School is Needs attention, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was St Margaret's Church of England Junior School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Margaret's Church of England Junior School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does St Margaret's Church of England Junior School have?

St Margaret's Church of England Junior School has 184 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Margaret's Church of England Junior School cover?

St Margaret's Church of England Junior School for pupils aged 7 to 11.

What are St Margaret's Church of England Junior School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 46% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Margaret's Church of England Junior School?

St Margaret's Church of England Junior School is at Seaview Road, Morwenna Park, Northam, Bideford, Devon, EX39 1EL.