South Darley CofE Primary School, Matlock
South Darley CofE Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 5 to 11 in Matlock. It has a Church of England religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in June 2019. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in June 2024 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 11th-highest of the 16 schools in Matlock with published results, and 11,772nd of 14,452 across England. It was 80% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Below England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2019)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Derbyshire (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
South Darley CofE Primary School in detail
South Darley CofE Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "South Darley C.E. Primary School is a village Church of England school in Darley Bridge, near Matlock, drawing families from across Darley Dale, Matlock and the surrounding Derbyshire Dales villages."
From the headteacher's welcome: "Our vision - Living as Children of Light - and the values that flow from it shape everything we do: a school where every child is known, cared for, and helped to grow. Ours is a thriving village school in the heart of the Derbyshire Dales, and we hope this page gives you a sense of who we are."
The school runs a breakfast club and after-school care until 6:00pm, from £2.50 per session.
Vision and values (school website)Headteacher's welcome (school website)Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 75% of Year 6 pupils at South Darley CofE Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 56% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 76% and 73% in Derbyshire and 77% and 75% across England.
Results fell from 89% in reading and 67% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at South Darley CofE Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 8 families put South Darley CofE Primary School as their first choice and 11 named it as one of their preferences, for 8 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at South Darley CofE Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to South Darley CofE Primary School are Darley Churchtown Church of England Primary School (1 mile, Good, 80% reading, 80% maths); Darley Dale Primary School (1 mile, Good, 80% reading, 83% maths); Winster CofE Primary School (1.5 miles, Good); and All Saints CofE Junior School (1.5 miles, Good, 88% reading, 90% maths).
Each of them had higher 2025 results than South Darley CofE Primary School.
Darley Churchtown Church of England Primary SchoolDarley Dale Primary SchoolWinster CofE Primary SchoolAll Saints CofE Junior School
Who goes there
0% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
In 2026, 1 pupils (1.9%) received SEN support and 1 (1.9%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is autism.
Getting there
The nearest tram or metro stop is Darley Dale (Peak Rail), about 0.8 miles away in a straight line.
4 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Cross Green (sw-bound), 30 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 8 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and public order offences. That is well below the typical figure around schools in Derbyshire (50).
Suspensions and exclusions
South Darley CofE Primary School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoThis judgement is from June 2019, 7 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted's report, in its own words
What is it like to attend this school?
Pupils enjoy learning at this school. They feel safe. They said that staff are kind and supportive. Parents and carers are very positive about the school. A typical comment from parents is that the school is 'wonderful, warm and caring'. The school is ambitious for every pupil to achieve well, and most pupils do.
The school is calm and orderly. Pupils behave very well. They play happily together during breaktimes and lunchtime. Older pupils enjoy supporting the younger ones. Pupils are polite and respectful to each other and staff. Most pupils have excellent attitudes to learning. They enjoy being rewarded for doing good work and behaving well.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
There is a well-planned, broad and ambitious curriculum in place for all pupils. The curriculum for most subjects identifies what pupils will learn and when. This helps teachers deliver the curriculum well so that pupils build their knowledge over time. However, this is not always the case in some subjects and for the early years foundation stage curriculum. As a result, in these subjects and in the Reception Year, pupils do not always build on previous learning.
Teachers have good subject knowledge. They explain new information clearly. Staff use questioning well to check and develop pupils' understanding. Sometimes, the learning activities that teachers use do not always support pupils in developing their knowledge and skills. This means that some pupils do not learn as well as they could.
From Ofsted's June 2024 ungraded inspection report: the opening paragraphs of each section, quoted word for word. Read the full report Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its June 2019 inspection - down from Outstanding.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
20.4%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 89% to 75% (2024 to 2025). Maths has declined from 67% to 56% (2024 to 2025). Writing has declined from 78% to 63% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
18.0
Avg class size
17.5
KS2
3
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Social & online
Keep up with South Darley CofE Primary School
Term dates
South Darley CofE Primary School is a voluntary controlled school, so its term dates are set by Derbyshire. Training (INSET) days, when pupils are not in school, vary by school: check the school's own calendar.
2027 to 2028
- Autumn term: Monday 6 September to Wednesday 22 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027)
- Spring term: Thursday 6 January to Friday 7 April 2028 (half term Monday 21 February to Friday 25 February 2028)
- Summer term: Monday 24 April to Monday 24 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028)
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to South Darley CofE Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. South Darley CofE Primary School is in Derbyshire; for families living there:
- Derbyshire's school travel policy: Home to school transport policy 2026 to 2027 - 465KB
- How to apply: Apply for home to school transport assistance
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 2
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 2 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Derbyshire is 6 (the median across 454 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at South Darley CofE Primary School
Will you get a place at South Darley CofE Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against South Darley CofE Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for South Darley CofE Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to South Darley CofE Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Derbyshire, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at South Darley CofE Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Derbyshire got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
80%
Available places
56 pupils
70 places
14 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Matlock
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Matlock
Across Derbyshire council
Places available
9,875
Applications
7,189
Got 1st preference
94.5%
Got preferred school
99.2%
All primary applications across Derbyshire council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(5)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
1
SEN Support
1
EHC Plans
3.7%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
54
Total Pupils
22
Boys
32
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
3
Teachers
18.0:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£61,146
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,356
Per pupil
£449k
Total funding
£20k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
3.0%
Overall absence
3.6%
Persistent absence
55
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Questions parents ask about South Darley CofE Primary School
What are SATs results like at South Darley CofE Primary School?
Of the pupils at South Darley CofE Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 75% reached the expected standard in reading and 56% did so in maths.
What is South Darley CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?
South Darley CofE Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in June 2024, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in June 2019, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for South Darley CofE Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When South Darley CofE Primary School is oversubscribed, Derbyshire allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at South Darley CofE Primary School?
South Darley CofE Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 80% of its 70 places.
How big are the classes at South Darley CofE Primary School?
Classes at South Darley CofE Primary School average 18 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to South Darley CofE Primary School?
South Darley CofE Primary School has around 54 pupils on roll. 20% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at South Darley CofE Primary School?
3% of sessions were missed at South Darley CofE Primary School in 2024/25. 3.6% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to South Darley CofE Primary School?
Apply through Derbyshire's coordinated admissions process, naming South Darley CofE Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
What are South Darley CofE Primary School's term dates?
South Darley CofE Primary School is a voluntary controlled school, so its term dates are set by Derbyshire. In 2027 to 2028: Autumn term: Monday 6 September to Wednesday 22 December 2027 (half term Monday 25 October to Friday 29 October 2027); Spring term: Thursday 6 January to Friday 7 April 2028 (half term Monday 21 February to Friday 25 February 2028); Summer term: Monday 24 April to Monday 24 July 2028 (half term Monday 29 May to Friday 2 June 2028).
How many road collisions happen near South Darley CofE Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 2 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 0 serious and 1 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 0 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Derbyshire is 6 (the median across 454 schools, same distance and years).
Where is South Darley CofE Primary School?
South Darley CofE Primary School is at Cross Green, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 2JT.
Sources: Derbyshire term dates; Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)