Dorothy Barley Junior Academy, Dagenham

In its own words: "Personal development is at the heart of everything we do at DBJA, and opportunities to grow personally as well as academically are woven into our curriculum approaches. We consider the skills children need to be successful to be as important as their academic learning."

From the headteacher's welcome: "Welcome to Dorothy Barley Junior Academy. We are a popular four form entry junior school. We also have a 12 place Additional Resource Provision for children with Moderate and Severe Learning Difficulties on site. Our children come from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds and we value and celebrate the diversity and sense of community this brings to our school."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football and multi-sports.

The school runs a breakfast club.

In 2025, 68% of Year 6 pupils at Dorothy Barley Junior Academy reached the expected standard in reading and 65% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 81% and 80% in Barking and Dagenham and 77% and 75% across England.

Results fell from 75% in reading and 69% in maths in 2024.

Across Barking and Dagenham, 95% of families were offered their first-choice primary school for 2026 entry, and 99% were offered one of the schools they named.

In 2026, families in Barking and Dagenham lodged 204 appeals against primary school offers; 71 reached a hearing and 2 succeeded (2.8% of those heard).

The nearest other state primary schools to Dorothy Barley Junior Academy are Dorothy Barley Infants' School (under 0.1 miles, Good); Roding Primary School (0.4 miles, Good, 76% reading, 78% maths); The St Teresa Catholic Primary School (0.5 miles, 93% reading, 83% maths); and Becontree Primary School (0.7 miles, Good, 68% reading, 65% maths).

Each of them had higher 2025 results than Dorothy Barley Junior Academy.

Dorothy Barley Junior Academy is one of 65 schools run by Reach2 Academy Trust, an academy trust.

Across the trust's primary schools, 66% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2024/25.

30 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about Dorothy Barley Junior Academy (as of September 2025): 100% would recommend the school, 97% say their child is happy there and 75% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that they are kept well informed about progress (100%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (75%).

57.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are Asian (26%), White British (26%) and Black (16%).

Dorothy Barley Junior Academy has a resourced provision (12 places, 12 pupils on roll) and a SEN unit (12 places, 12 pupils on roll) for moderate learning difficulties and severe learning difficulties.

The nearest Underground station is Becontree Underground Station, about 1150 metres away (roughly a 14-minute walk).

6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Ivinghoe Road, 140 metres away.

In 2024/25, Dorothy Barley Junior Academy issued 10 suspensions, 3.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The secondary schools closest to Dorothy Barley Junior Academy are Barking Abbey School, A Specialist Sports and Humanities College (0.7 miles); The Sydney Russell School (0.8 miles); Jo Richardson Community School (1.1 miles); and Loxford School (1.1 miles).