SchoolFacts.uk

Denver Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Primary · Downham Market · PE38 0DP

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 29 March 2023

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

108 pupils · 96% of 112 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Voluntary controlled school
Age range
4–11
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Free school meals
16.7% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
7.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
13% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
5.6% of pupils (2024/2025)
Website
www.denver.norfolk.sch.uk
URN
121069

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 19 families named it first for 14 Reception places, 1.36 first choices per place. Ofsted last graded it Good on 29 March 2023, under the framework used before November 2025. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 5.2% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

1.36 first-choice applications per place

14 places offered · 19 first-choice applications · oversubscribed

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

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

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

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
76%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
6%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
106
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
105
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 school76%
Median of its 12 closest peers64%
Norfolk average56.2%
England62%

On meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, this school is ahead of 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
St Mark's Church of England Primary School, EcclesAylesford · 88 miles awayNeeds attention56%
Ulceby St Nicholas Church of England Primary SchoolUlceby · 77 miles awayGood69%
Slip End Village SchoolLuton · 62 miles awayGood75%
Osgodby Primary SchoolMarket Rasen · 66 miles awayGood (2019)87%
Burford CofE Primary SchoolTenbury Wells · 127 miles awayExpected standard53%
Brighstone Church of England Aided Primary SchoolNewport · 155 miles awayGood38%
Bishops Castle Primary SchoolBishops Castle · 142 miles awayGood50%
Meare Village Primary SchoolGlastonbury · 167 miles awayGood77%
Weston Hills CofE Primary SchoolSpalding · 24 miles awayGood59%
Alston Primary SchoolAlston · 192 miles awayGood38%
St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School, HaslingdenRossendale · 136 miles awayOutstanding71%
Tetney Primary SchoolGrimsby · 65 miles awayGood70%

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

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 91% (Norfolk 79%, England 60%) · Mixed White and Asian 4% (Norfolk 1%, England 2%) · Any other White background 3% (Norfolk 7%, England 7%) · Asian Indian 1% (Norfolk 2%, England 4%) · Black Caribbean 1% (Norfolk 0%, England 1%) · Any other Mixed background 1% (Norfolk 2%, England 3%)

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)
5.2%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
9.7%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

0.00 suspensions per 100 pupils and 0 permanent exclusions · England, primary schools: 2.47 suspensions and 0.03 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Norfolk: 5.56 suspensions and 0.10 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
21.6
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

91% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 9% moved to another state school

Vacancies (November 2025)

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

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £43,412; 16.7% 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£8,298
Typical primary school£7,202

Where the money went (2025-26)

Share of spending, with the median for primary schools in brackets: Staff 75% (76%) · premises 9% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 9% (8%) · supplies and services 6% (9%) · educational supplies 3% (4%) · bought-in professional services 2% (3%) · catering 6% (5%)

Reserves (2025-26)

Revenue reserve £20,712; in-year balance -£22,004

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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)
5/10around the middle for England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher21.9%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications23.1%18.1%
In managerial or professional work26.6%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways18%18.1%
Residents in very good health40.3%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier71.2%62.3%
Social housing11%17.1%
Privately rented17.6%20.5%
Detached houses49.1%22.9%
Flats1.5%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms25.7%21.1%
Households with no car or van8.2%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01026679 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£322,00099 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£263,500–£407,500the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (64)£352,000
Semi-detached (22)£279,500
Terraced (10)£281,000

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
5an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
5an 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