Parkham Primary School, Bideford
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 8 months agoReport card - no overall grade (new Ofsted framework from Sep 2024)
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
Parkham Primary School excels at creating a warm, supportive environment where all children thrive - staff know pupils and families well and respond quickly to individual needs. The school provides excellent phonics and reading instruction from early years onwards, ensuring strong foundations in literacy. Pupils benefit from a broad curriculum enriched with sporting activities, music, art, and exciting residential visits that broaden their horizons.
Key Strengths
- Excellent early years provision with well-designed, research-informed curriculum and strong phonics teaching
- Consistently high pupil behaviour and attendance, with pupils describing the school as a supportive family
- Effective support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, with well-trained staff and clear targets
- Strong focus on essential skills in reading, handwriting, spelling and number facts
- Ambitious leadership with effective governance and good staff morale
Areas for Improvement
- Some feedback to pupils in foundation subjects is not precise enough to address learning gaps
- Teaching in some foundation subjects does not consistently revisit misconceptions and prior learning
- Further work needed to develop pupils' understanding of cultural diversity
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met with an open and positive culture where all legal requirements are fulfilled and pupils feel safe.
Extracurricular Activities
Tennis, rugby, cross country running, art, music, annual village hall performances, water safety training from Royal National Lifeboat Institution, residential visits to outdoor education centres with climbing and kayaking, visits to Plymouth and London including Houses of Parliament
Parkham Primary School is a small primary school in Devon that provides high-quality education with strong early years provision and effective support for all learners. The school has created a positive, family-like culture where pupils feel safe, well cared for, and enjoy attending.
At a Glance
14.9%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 71% to 63%. Maths has improved from 71% to 88%. Writing has improved from 57% to 63%.
Class Sizes
19.0
Avg class size
24.0
KS2
3
Total classes
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Bus Stops
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
82%
Available places
55 pupils
67 capacity
12 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Bideford
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Bideford
Admissions Demand - Devon
Places available
9,263
Applications
6,758
Got 1st preference
96.2%
Got preferred school
98.9%
Primary admissions across Devon (2025/26)
Inspection History(7)
House Prices
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SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
Pupil Demographics
The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.
Teachers & Staff
Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.
School Funding
Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.29915%
Overall absence
2.17391%
Persistent absence
46
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
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