The FMS Inspection Score is FindMySchool's proprietary analysis based on official Ofsted and ISI inspection reports. It converts ratings into a standardised 1–10 scale for fair comparison across all schools in England.
Disclaimer: The FMS Inspection Score is an independent analysis by FindMySchool. It is not endorsed by or affiliated with Ofsted or ISI. Always refer to the official Ofsted or ISI report for the full picture of a school’s inspection outcome.
A junior school that feels deliberately small, and uses that scale as a strength. With around 55 pupils on roll and a published capacity of 150, Bakewell Methodist Academy sits in an unusual space: large enough to offer structured routines, specialist opportunities, and wraparound care, but small enough that staff can keep a close eye on every pupil’s day.
The Academy’s day is carefully timetabled from the moment pupils are allowed on site at 08:30 through to a 15:30 finish, with collective worship built into the morning. That rhythm matters in a junior setting where consistency supports behaviour, learning, and wellbeing.
Ethos is stated plainly, kind, inclusive, courageous, alongside curriculum drivers of diversity, resilience, creativity and aspiration. The messaging is consistent across policies and parent-facing pages, which tends to signal that leaders are trying to make the “how we do things here” clear to families.
A final context point for parents reading inspection headlines: this Academy is newly registered and the Ofsted page for the current URN shows no published report yet. For historical context, the predecessor school, Bakewell Methodist Junior School, was previously judged Requires Improvement, with a graded inspection published in October 2021 and a monitoring visit published in December 2022.
Junior schools live or die by routines, relationships, and the quality of adult attention. Here, the published staffing list in the parent handbook makes the scale concrete: a small teaching team, teaching assistants, a named sports coach, and even a Baby and Toddler Assistant role. That last detail hints at a wider community function beyond the Year 3 to Year 6 cohort, and it is consistent with the website navigation that places community links prominently.
The school’s ethos statement is simple and behavioural rather than abstract. “Kind, inclusive and courageous” sets a tone that can be used in day-to-day conversations with pupils, particularly around friendships, unkindness, and taking academic risks.
There is also an explicitly Methodist thread running through the language. The curriculum pages and policy documents connect the school’s work to Christian faith and the idea of living life “in all its fullness” (John 10:10). For families who want a faith-shaped context but do not want a narrowly confessional environment, the most practical signal is in admissions: religious grounds can be part of oversubscription only in specific circumstances and with supporting evidence.
The school’s current identity is also part of a longer local story. Archival records describe Bakewell Methodist Junior School as having roots in the Bakewell Wesleyan School founded in 1867, later becoming Bakewell Methodist Junior School in 1933. That continuity can matter to local families who value the sense of a long-established community institution, even as governance and legal status have changed.
Leadership visibility is clear. Sarah Owens is named as Headteacher across the staff page and in the parent handbook. The handbook also frames the Academy’s trust membership, stating that since February 2024 the school is part of Epworth Education Trust, with local governance through a Local Advisory Board.
For this school, does not include published Key Stage 2 performance or ranking metrics, so this review does not make claims about attainment or progress measures. That limitation is common for small cohorts, where public reporting can be affected by cohort size and suppression rules, and it makes the “how learning is organised” section more important for parents than raw outcomes.
What can be evidenced is the school’s clear emphasis on core skills. The parent-facing pages highlight English and mathematics as priorities, and the timetable in the handbook shows a daily mathematics skills slot early in the morning, followed by structured lesson blocks. This kind of timetable design is typically intended to place cognitively demanding work when pupils are freshest and to protect curriculum time for foundational learning.
If you are comparing local schools, this is the sort of case where FindMySchool’s local comparison tools are most useful for seeing what is published for similar Derbyshire junior schools and how cohort sizes can affect what appears in headline data.
The curriculum statements are framed around steady knowledge-building and repeated practice, with pupils expected to work independently and collaboratively. That is a conventional approach, but the detail that makes it distinctive is the way the school tries to anchor curriculum intent to its stated drivers, diversity, resilience, creativity and aspiration, rather than treating those as posters.
English is described in traditional terms of fluency, comprehension, and cultural development through reading, with reading positioned as a route to emotional and social growth as well as academic skill. That framing tends to suit pupils who need encouragement to read widely, because it puts reading into the “whole child” category, not just test preparation.
Physical education is laid out in National Curriculum language with a broad range of sports and movement disciplines listed for Key Stage 2. For parents, the practical implication is variety: pupils should experience invasion games, net and wall games, athletics, dance, gymnastics, and outdoor adventurous activities rather than being funnelled early into a single sport culture.
Two additional features stand out because they are unusually specific on a primary website.
First, Forest School. The school states it has two fully trained Level 3 Forest School leaders and runs weekly sessions for all children all year round. That is not a token “outdoor day” programme. Regular sessions typically support self-regulation, teamwork, and confidence, particularly for pupils who learn best through movement and practical problem-solving.
Second, the school’s approach to communications and routines is operationalised through clear policies and a parent handbook that spells out practical expectations, from arrival arrangements to snack guidance. For many families, the value is predictability, fewer surprises, and clear boundaries around behaviour and wellbeing.
Quality of Education
Requires Improvement
Behaviour & Attitudes
Good
Personal Development
Good
Leadership & Management
Requires Improvement
FMS Inspection Score calculated by FindMySchool based on official inspection data.
Because this is a junior school serving ages 7 to 11, the key transition point is into Year 7. The school’s admissions and handbook content makes it clear that it works closely with Bakewell CE Infant School on routines and wraparound care, which is most relevant for families with younger siblings.
For secondary transfer planning, families in Bakewell typically consider a mix of local state secondary options and, depending on preference, faith context or travel. The most reliable next step is to use Derbyshire’s coordinated admissions guidance and the FindMySchool map tools to model travel times and distance-based priorities for your preferred secondary schools, because junior school does not determine secondary allocation.
This school sits within Derbyshire’s coordinated admissions scheme for primary and junior transfers, and it publishes determined admission arrangements for 2026 to 2027. The published admission number is 40.
Oversubscription follows a clear hierarchy. After pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan naming the school, priority moves through looked after children, siblings living in the normal area, then other children in the normal area, then siblings outside the normal area, then religious grounds in relevant cases, then other applicants. Where distance is the tie-break, it is measured as a straight line from home to school using a Geographic Information System.
For Year 3 entry via junior transfer, the school’s own admissions page shows the pattern used in recent years: the application window opens in early November and closes on 15 January, with offers released on the national offer day in April.
For Reception intake into Derbyshire primary schools more broadly, Derbyshire County Council states that for 2026 to 2027 entry you apply between 10 November 2025 and 15 January 2026, with offers on 16 April 2026. While that is not the junior transfer route, it is useful context for families with younger children planning their pipeline through the local system.
If your family is trying to understand “how realistic is this”, focus on three things: whether you are in the normal area served by the school, whether you have a sibling already on roll at the time of application, and how Derbyshire measures distance for tie-break decisions. Use the FindMySchool Map Search to check your distance to the school compared with the pattern of allocations in your area, and treat distance as a variable that can change year to year.
The pastoral picture here is strongly tied to safeguarding systems and predictable routines. The parent handbook names the designated safeguarding lead as Sarah Owens, with a deputy designated person named, and it explains the duty to act on concerns in line with safeguarding procedures. For parents, the benefit is clarity about who holds responsibility and what the escalation pathway is.
Attendance expectations are also spelled out in a policy framework, including practical guidance on reporting absence and the stance on term-time holidays, which is consistent with Derbyshire’s wider approach. In a small school, attendance patterns are visible quickly; families who value early intervention around attendance and punctuality may see that as a positive.
The handbook also includes clear anti-bullying expectations, framed in straightforward language: bullying is not tolerated and parents are asked to contact school immediately if they suspect it. This is basic, but it matters, because the operational reality for parents is knowing that staff will take reports seriously and that there is a policy-backed approach to managing incidents.
In smaller primaries, extracurricular strength is often about frequency and reliability rather than breadth. The evidence here supports that sort of model.
Forest School is a headline enrichment feature, and it runs weekly for all children, all year round, supported by trained Level 3 leaders. The implication is that outdoor learning is not reserved for a subset of pupils or a single term. It is part of the weekly experience, which can be particularly beneficial for pupils who need practical contexts to build confidence and resilience.
Clubs also have named, structured offerings. A published clubs letter for Autumn term 2024 lists a Year 6 Booster Club (by invitation), a Multi Sports club for all year groups, and a Choir for all year groups, each running after school. The presence of an invite-only booster offer suggests targeted academic support for older pupils, while choir and multi-sports create shared experiences across year groups, which can help build cohesion in a small school community.
The parent handbook adds further texture: pupils have swimming as part of PE expectations, with practical kit requirements spelled out, and parents are regularly invited into school for assemblies and celebration events. That sort of shared calendar can matter to families who want school to feel relational rather than transactional.
The school day is laid out precisely in the parent handbook. Pupils may arrive from 08:30, registration is signalled by a whistle at 08:45, and the school day ends at 15:30. Lunch begins at 11:45. The school week is described as 32.5 hours including breaks and collective worship.
Wraparound care is available on site through breakfast club and after-school provision named Acorns and Little Oaks, serving both infant and junior children, which supports working families and simplifies logistics for siblings across the two schools.
Transport and drop-off are treated as a safety issue. The handbook notes the school’s location at the end of a narrow cul-de-sac and asks parents to follow a one-way pattern on nearby roads, and not to bring cars into the school grounds at drop-off. For families, this is a practical factor: if you rely on driving, you will want to understand the local traffic pinch points and the school’s expectations early.
Inspection context is in transition. The current Academy’s Ofsted page shows no published report yet, so parents looking for an up-to-date inspection narrative will not find one under the Academy URN at present. The predecessor junior school was previously judged Requires Improvement, which may still be relevant background, but it is not the same as a current Academy inspection.
Year 3 entry creates a specific admissions moment. This is not a Reception-to-Year 6 primary. Families typically move from infant to junior at Year 3, which means you need to engage with the junior transfer process and deadlines even if you feel settled earlier.
A small roll changes the social experience. With around 55 pupils currently on roll, friendship groups and peer dynamics can feel more intense than in a larger two-form entry primary. For many pupils that is reassuring and containing; for others it can feel limiting.
Faith involvement can matter in oversubscription. The determined admissions arrangements include a criterion for requests on religious grounds in relevant cases, with supporting evidence expected. Families wanting a strictly non-faith admissions environment should read the arrangements carefully and ask questions early.
Bakewell Methodist Academy is defined by its scale and its clarity. The school day is structured, expectations are written down, and the ethos is consistently repeated across core pages and policies. Forest School provision, plus practical clubs like choir and multi-sports, gives pupils regular enrichment without relying on a large-school model.
Best suited to families who want a junior school with clear routines, close adult attention, and a Methodist values framework, and who are comfortable engaging with the Year 3 transfer process. The main question for many will be inspection reassurance, because the current Academy listing does not yet have a published report.
It has several markers that parents often value in a junior setting: a clearly timetabled day, defined ethos, named safeguarding leadership, and distinctive enrichment through weekly Forest School sessions. The current Academy URN does not yet have a published Ofsted report, so parents seeking the latest external evaluation will need to rely on published school information and direct engagement with the school.
Admissions are managed through Derbyshire’s coordinated scheme and the school publishes determined admission arrangements for 2026 to 2027. Priority follows looked after children and siblings first, then children living in the normal area served by the school, with distance used as a tie-break when needed.
For Derbyshire primary admissions, Derbyshire County Council states applications for 2026 to 2027 entry open on 10 November 2025 and close on 15 January 2026, with offers on 16 April 2026. Families should also check the school’s junior transfer guidance and the coordinated scheme for the specific Year 3 route.
The parent handbook states pupils may arrive from 08:30, registration begins at 08:45, and the school day ends at 15:30. Lunch begins at 11:45.
Yes. The school’s wraparound provision is hosted on site and includes breakfast club and after-school care through Acorns and Little Oaks, with access for both infant and junior children, which is helpful for families juggling siblings.
Get in touch with the school directly
Disclaimer
Information on this page is compiled, analysed, and processed from publicly available sources including the Department for Education (DfE), Ofsted, the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, and official school websites.
Our rankings, metrics, and assessments are derived from this data using our own methodologies and represent our independent analysis rather than official standings.
While we strive for accuracy, we cannot guarantee that all information is current, complete, or error-free. Data may change without notice, and schools and/or local authorities should be contacted directly to verify any details before making decisions.
FindMySchool does not endorse any particular school, and rankings reflect specific metrics rather than overall quality.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we accept no liability for any loss or damage arising from reliance on information provided. If you believe any information is inaccurate, please contact us.