Mowden Infant School
Primary · Darlington · DL3 9QG
Data updated
Earlier grade, confirmed by a later ungraded inspection
Ofsted's most recent (ungraded) visit confirmed the school remains Good. Ungraded inspections do not award a new grade.
Inspected 18 January 2023
Read the Ofsted report ↗At a glance
169 pupils · 94% of 180 capacity (January 2026 census)
- School type
- Academy converter
- Age range
- 5–7
- Gender
- Mixed
- Free school meals
- 8.9% of pupils (January 2026)
- English as additional language
- 3.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
- SEN support
- 4.5% of pupils (2024/2025)
- EHC plan
- 1.7% of pupils (2024/2025)
- URN
- 138175
In figures
For September 2026 entry, 73 families named it first for 59 Reception places, 1.24 first choices per place. Its last Reception place offered on distance for 2026 entry went to 1.122 miles; distance decided places in 1 of the 3 years of Reception rounds we hold, 2024 to 2026. An ungraded Ofsted inspection on 18 January 2023 confirmed its earlier grade, Good. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 4% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.
Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026
1.24 first-choice applications per place59 places offered · 73 first-choice applications · oversubscribed
First-choice applications per place, by entry year
Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured
Catchment area
Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Places by distance, last offered at 1.122 miles for 2026 entry.
Admissions cutoff distance: Reception
Last child offered a place under the distance criterion (2026 entry) lived within 1.122 miles
measured by shortest walking route.
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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work
Compare admissions across the area: Darlington school admissions · the wider Darlington authority
Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)
White British 89% (Darlington 77%, England 60%) · Any other Mixed background 3% (Darlington 1%, England 3%) · Any other White background 2% (Darlington 4%, England 7%) · Not recorded 2% (Darlington 1%, England 1%) · Any other Asian background 1% (Darlington 2%, England 2%) · Asian Pakistani 1% (Darlington 0%, England 5%) · Any other ethnic group 1% (Darlington 1%, England 3%) · Asian Bangladeshi 1% (Darlington 1%, England 2%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Darlington 1%, England 2%)
Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures
Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)
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 · Darlington: 3.77 suspensions and 0.05 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils
Suspensions and exclusions, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →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
Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.
Teacher retention (2024/25)
86% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 14% moved to another state school
Vacancies (November 2025)
0% of teaching posts vacant, 0% filled temporarily · England, primary academies: 0.3% vacant, 0.32% temporary
Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)
10% of teachers took sickness absence, 10 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 £58,799; 20% on the leadership pay range · England, primary schools: £50,856, 17.3%
Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium
Premium shows the same figures for each of the last three years.
Unlock with SchoolFacts Premium →Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted
Inspection history since 2015
- 17 January 2023: School remains Good
- 12 July 2017: Yes - improving (good)
Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems
The area around the school
- Child poverty (IDACI)
- 10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
- Overall deprivation (IMD)
- 10/10among the least deprived tenth of England
| Census 2021 | This area | England |
|---|---|---|
| Adults with a degree or higher | 36.6% | 33.9% |
| Adults with no qualifications | 14.9% | 18.1% |
| In managerial or professional work | 40.7% | 33.2% |
| Households deprived in two or more ways | 9.5% | 18.1% |
| Residents in very good health | 45.7% | 48.5% |
| Homes owned by the occupier | 90% | 62.3% |
| Social housing | 1% | 17.1% |
| Privately rented | 9% | 20.5% |
| Detached houses | 29.4% | 22.9% |
| Flats | 4.3% | 22.2% |
| Homes with four or more bedrooms | 22% | 21.1% |
| Households with no car or van | 15% | 23.5% |
These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01012348 · how to read area figures
What homes cost nearby
- Median sale price
- £230,000345 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
- Typical range
- £174,000–£290,000the middle half of sales
- England median
- £300,000all sales over the same period
Homes around this school are cheaper 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
- 3an 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