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Dunmow St Mary's Primary School

Primary · Dunmow · CM6 1EB

Data updated

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Good

Graded inspection under the pre-November 2025 system

This is an overall-effectiveness grade from the previous inspection framework. The school has not yet had a report-card inspection.

Quality of education: GoodBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 27 June 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

459 pupils · 109% of 420 capacity (over capacity) (January 2026 census)

School type
Foundation school
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Free school meals
17.6% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
4.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
14.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
2.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
http://www.dsmprimary.essex.sch.uk
URN
115299

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 58 families named it first for 60 Reception places, 0.97 first choices per place. We hold one Reception admissions round for it, 2026 entry, and it was not decided by a published distance. Ofsted last graded it Good on 27 June 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 4.7% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.97 first-choice applications per place

60 places offered · 58 first-choice applications · roughly balanced

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Cutoff by admission criterion (2026 entry)

Criterion 5 (Other children living in the priority admission area)
0.895 miles

Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

60 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
58%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
8%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
104
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
104
England 105

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 2024/2025

This school58%
Median of its 12 closest peers64.5%
Essex average63.8%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedResult
Wellesbourne CofE Primary SchoolWarwick · 86 miles awayGood55%
Waycroft AcademyBristol · 128 miles awayGood48%
East Herrington Primary AcademySunderland · 220 miles awayGood81%
Wells Hall Primary SchoolSudbury · 20 miles awayExpected standard65%
Combe Down CofE Primary SchoolBath · 121 miles awayNo current grade63%
Ashton-on-Ribble St Andrew's Church of England Primary SchoolPreston · 184 miles awayGood68%
St Petroc's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary SchoolBodmin · 240 miles awayGood62%
Packmoor Ormiston AcademyStoke-on-Trent · 136 miles awayNo current grade66%
Glen Hills Primary SchoolLeicester · 81 miles awayGood64%
Malvern Primary SchoolLiverpool · 172 miles awayOutstanding80%
Holland Haven Primary SchoolClacton-on-Sea · 36 miles awayNo current grade55%
Rooks Nest AcademyWakefield · 149 miles awayGood85%

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 79% (Essex 73%, England 60%) · Any other White background 6% (Essex 7%, England 7%) · Any other Mixed background 4% (Essex 3%, England 3%) · Black African 2% (Essex 4%, England 5%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Essex 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Essex 1%, England 1%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Essex 1%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 1% (Essex 2%, England 2%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Essex 1%, England 2%) · Asian Indian 1% (Essex 3%, England 4%) · Any other Black background 1% (Essex 1%, England 1%) · other groups together 1%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
4.7%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
10.9%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

3.24 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Essex: 3.26 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
22.8
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

76% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 19% moved to another state school · 5% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, council-maintained primaries: 0.18% vacant, 0.36% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

48.4% of teachers took sickness absence, 3.6 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £46,612; 10.3% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2025-26)

This school£6,171
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 81% (76%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 8% (8%) · supplies and services 6% (9%) · educational supplies 5% (4%) · bought-in professional services 1% (3%) · catering 5% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £252,559; in-year balance +£27,318

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: council-maintained school finance return, 2025-26, DfE · how spending is compared

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
6/10around the middle for England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
8/10less deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher33%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications14.5%18.1%
In managerial or professional work39%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways11.8%18.1%
Residents in very good health55%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier74.2%62.3%
Social housing15.9%17.1%
Privately rented9.7%20.5%
Detached houses51%22.9%
Flats7.5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms38.1%21.1%
Households with no car or van8.1%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01022068 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£405,000379 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£300,000–£510,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (142)£540,000
Semi-detached (71)£420,000
Terraced (89)£342,000
Flat (77)£195,000

Homes around this school are dearer than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
0an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
1an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
6an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
1an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools