The Promise School is proposed to close (Saturday 31 October 2026).
The Department for Education lists this school as open but proposed to close. Check with the school or the council before applying.
The Promise School, Okehampton
The Promise School is a special school for pupils aged 4 to 16 in Okehampton, part of Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
The Promise School in detail
The trust
The Promise School is one of 19 schools run by Dartmoor Multi Academy Trust, an academy trust.
What parents say
20 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about The Promise School (as of September 2025): 50% would recommend the school, 50% say their child is happy there and 0% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.
The strongest agreement was that they are kept well informed about progress (70%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (0%).
Who goes there
72.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, and 1.3% speak English as an additional language, according to the 2026 school census.
Almost every pupil at The Promise School has an education, health and care plan (79 of 79 in 2026). The most common need among them is social, emotional and mental health needs.
The Promise School has a resourced provision for autism and social, emotional and mental health needs: 100 places, 80 pupils on roll.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Okehampton Rail Station, about 600 metres away (roughly a 7-minute walk).
7 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Mill Road (n-bound), 130 metres away.
The area around the school
In August 2026, police recorded 61 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, shoplifting and other theft. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Devon (16), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, The Promise School issued 251 suspensions, 317.7 for every 100 pupils, and no permanent exclusions.
Sources: DfE multi-academy trust performance data; Ofsted Parent View; 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 · 4 months agoOverall
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's June 2026 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
The Promise School has made good progress in developing a clearer curriculum structure and improving the teaching of phonics, so pupils are building on what they've already learned. Leaders and the trust are working together to strengthen the school, with staff now receiving training to improve their teaching. The school provides a calm, structured start to the day which helps pupils feel supported and ready to learn.
Key Strengths
- Leaders have introduced a sequenced and coherent curriculum in many subjects, helping pupils build on previous learning
- Phonics teaching is now systematic with pupils reading books matched to their level
- Pupils benefit from a calm start to the day and clear expectations, with older pupils understanding behaviour standards well
- Staff are receiving useful professional development to improve teaching quality
- Leaders are working more effectively with external providers and parents to support pupils with additional needs
Areas for Improvement
- Staff lack the necessary expertise to support pupils with SEND effectively, limiting tailored support
- Assessment systems in most subjects remain underdeveloped, making it hard to track pupil progress
- Behaviour strategies are not yet consistently effective, and leaders lack strategic oversight of behaviour patterns
- The curriculum is not sufficiently broad and activities often restrict pupils' ability to build and apply knowledge
- Individual learning plans are not precise enough and don't always match pupils' education, health and care plans
Safeguarding
Safeguarding was evaluated as effective at the previous graded inspection.
The Promise School is a specialist SEND school serving 84 pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs. Although leaders and trustees are taking effective action to improve the school, significant work remains to address weaknesses in behaviour, curriculum implementation, and staff expertise.
At a Glance
72.2%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
Resourced provision: Autism, SEMH
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
What Parents Think
20 responsesSource: Ofsted Parent View, responses as at September 2025 - % who strongly agree or agree
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Keep up with The Promise School
Getting There
Train Stations
Tube / Metro / Tram
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to The Promise School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. The Promise School is in Devon; for families living there:
- Devon's school travel policy: Free school transport
- How to apply: Apply for free school transport
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 12
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 1
- Children hurt
- 0
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 12 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 11 slight.
No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt.
1 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 Devon is 3 (the median across 426 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
Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
79%
Available places
79 pupils
100 places
21 spare places
as recorded on GIAS
Area Demand Pressure - Okehampton
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Okehampton
Across Devon council
Places available
7,788
Applications
7,251
Got 1st preference
93.3%
Got preferred school
98.4%
All secondary applications across Devon council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(3)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
0
SEN Support
79
EHC Plans
100.0%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
The Promise School has a resourced provision for autism and social, emotional and mental health needs: 100 places, 80 pupils on roll.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
79
Total Pupils
73
Boys
6
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
17
Teachers
4.6:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£48,675
Mean salary
2026 data
Pupil Absence2024/25
30.8%
Overall absence
75.9%
Persistent absence
83
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Questions parents ask about The Promise School
What are GCSE results like at The Promise School?
In the 2026 results, pupils at The Promise School achieved an Attainment 8 score of 3.1. 0% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is the catchment area for The Promise School?
No fixed boundary. When The Promise School is oversubscribed, Devon allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
How many pupils go to The Promise School?
The Promise School has around 79 pupils on roll. 72% are eligible for free school meals.
Does The Promise School have specialist SEN provision?
The Promise School has a resourced provision for autism and social, emotional and mental health needs: 100 places, 80 pupils on roll.
What is attendance like at The Promise School?
30.8% of sessions were missed at The Promise School in 2024/25. 75.9% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to The Promise School?
Apply through Devon's coordinated admissions process, naming The Promise School on your application. The national closing date in England is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.
How many road collisions happen near The Promise School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 12 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 1 serious and 11 slight. No children aged 0 to 15 were among the people hurt. 1 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 Devon is 3 (the median across 426 schools, same distance and years).
Where is The Promise School?
The Promise School is at Wardhayes, Simmons Way, Okehampton, EX20 1PU.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)