Chudleigh Church of England Community Primary School Review 2026: Values-led primary with strong outcomes in England context

A school day that starts with pupils gathering on the playgrounds and a clear 9:00am start sets a calm, organised tone. With capacity for 420 pupils, this is a sizeable village primary that still aims to feel personal through leadership visibility and structured routines. The current school building dates to 25 November 1991, opened at a reported cost of £1.6 million, and the site includes landscaped grounds alongside an environmental area being developed for pupil use.

Academic outcomes are a clear strength. In 2024, 79.33% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, well above the England average of 62%. At the higher standard, 26.67% achieved greater depth in reading, writing and maths, compared with 8% across England. FindMySchool’s primary ranking places the school above England average, in the top 25% of schools in England, based on official data. It is ranked 2,969th in England and 4th in the Newton Abbot area for primary outcomes (FindMySchool ranking).

Leadership is stable. Mrs Emily England is the headteacher and has been in post since September 2019.

This is a Church of England primary where faith is present in daily language, but expressed through practical, accessible values that pupils can use with one another. The school’s published values include Friendship, Happiness, Kindness, Forgiveness, Love, Respect and Teamwork, rooted in Christian teaching and referenced explicitly in the school’s vision.

That values framework shows up in how pupils are expected to behave and how adults respond. External review evidence points to respectful relationships, a strong sense of fairness among pupils, and confidence that adults will listen if something is wrong. Bullying is described as rare, with staff response framed as reliable and supportive.

Leadership visibility is also part of the atmosphere. The school publishes that members of the leadership team, class teachers, and the school-based counsellor are typically present on the playgrounds at the start and end of the day. That matters for families who value quick, informal access to familiar adults, especially during the early weeks in Reception and after tricky days.

The outcomes data suggests a school that is doing more than simply meeting national expectations. The headline measure for primary, reading, writing and maths combined at expected standard, stands at 79.33% in 2024, compared with 62% across England. That is a large gap, and it is reinforced by attainment at the higher standard, where 26.67% achieved greater depth, compared with 8% across England.

Scaled scores also sit at a strong level. Reading is 108, maths is 106, and grammar, punctuation and spelling is 108. The combined total score for reading, GPS and maths is 322.

In FindMySchool’s primary ranking (based on official data), the school is ranked 2,969th in England and 4th in the Newton Abbot area for primary outcomes. This places performance above England average, within the top 25% of schools in England.

The useful implication for parents is not only that many pupils leave Year 6 secure in the basics, but that a meaningful proportion are moving into secondary with greater depth in core skills. For confident readers and mathematicians, that can translate into an easier transition to the heavier reading load and faster pace of Key Stage 3.

The curriculum narrative centres on structured progression and vocabulary, starting early. External evaluation describes leaders identifying important knowledge from the early years onwards and supporting staff to break learning into manageable steps.

Reading is treated as a whole-school priority. The description of practice includes regular adult read-aloud, deliberately chosen books representing different authors and text types, and consistent delivery of phonics by trained staff who check understanding before pupils move on. The practical benefit is early identification of pupils who are not keeping up, alongside targeted help rather than waiting for gaps to widen.

A key development point is assessment use in some foundation subjects. The latest inspection notes that in parts of the wider curriculum, teachers do not always use checking-for-understanding well enough to shape what happens next. Where that happens, some pupils do not build knowledge as securely over time, and recall is weaker than it could be.

For parents, this is worth asking about on a visit: what does checking prior knowledge look like in geography, history, art, design and technology, and how are staff being supported to tighten this?

As a state primary serving a Devon community, transition routes depend heavily on Devon’s secondary admissions arrangements, family preferences, and transport practicalities. What can be said confidently is that pupils are already exposed to secondary settings through joint events. A Key Stage 2 dance festival, for example, took place at South Dartmoor Community College with participation from multiple primary schools. That kind of experience can make the idea of “big school” feel less abstract for Year 5 and Year 6 pupils.

Pastoral preparation for transition matters as much as academic readiness. Pupils who have held responsibility roles, such as wellbeing ambassadors, also tend to arrive in Year 7 with a stronger sense of independence and school citizenship.

If you are comparing local options, the FindMySchool Local Hub and Comparison Tool can help you view nearby secondaries side-by-side, then sense-check travel and admissions realities before you commit to a single plan.

This is a voluntary controlled Church of England school, with Devon County Council as the admissions authority. The school participates in Devon’s coordinated admissions arrangements. For families, the key practical point is that normal round applications are made through the local authority where the child lives, while in-year applications are handled through Devon for families living in the county.

Demand is real but not extreme. For the primary entry route there were 61 applications and 57 offers, which equates to 1.07 applications per offered place. The school is described as oversubscribed, which typically means that distance, siblings, and any priority criteria become decisive when the year group is tight.

For September 2026 Reception entry, Devon’s published timeline indicates applications open on 15 November 2025 and close on 15 January 2026. Offers for primary places are issued on 16 April (or the next working day if it falls on a weekend or bank holiday), under national admissions arrangements.

The school notes that it holds open sessions during the autumn term, and that families can request an appointment to visit. This is sensible advice to follow. Even strong data cannot tell you whether your child will enjoy the social feel, the playground routines, and the way adults handle anxious starters.

The pastoral model here looks multi-layered rather than reliant on a single individual. The school publishes a designated safeguarding structure led by the headteacher, with multiple deputy safeguarding leads. It also lists a school-based counsellor, which is still relatively unusual in primary and can be valuable for pupils navigating anxiety, family change, friendship difficulty, or emotional regulation challenges.

The latest Ofsted report rated the school Good and confirmed that safeguarding arrangements are effective.

For parents, the practical implication is not that problems never arise, but that processes, training, and escalation routes are taken seriously. The report describes staff confidence in identifying concerns, accurate record-keeping, and timely action, including challenging other agencies when response is slow.

Clubs, pupil leadership, community-facing projects, and sport all feature in the published picture of school life.

Pupil leadership and service

Pupils are given structured responsibility roles, including sports and wellbeing ambassadors. Those roles are not just decorative. The inspection describes leaders listening to pupil voice and pupils seeing visible impact, including playtime improvements.

A distinctive element is the school’s UgandAid link. The school reports fundraising support for a young person, Nelson, to gain technology skills through a vocational course at the Nile Vocational Institute, alongside a partnership with a Ugandan primary school, St Moses, including letter exchange between pupils. For children, this turns global learning and Christian service into something specific, relational, and concrete.

Music and performance

A school choir is active enough to take on community invitations, including a Dementia Care Carol Service at Chudleigh Church, where pupils sang and signed carols. External review also references pupils performing with a local orchestra, suggesting that music is supported beyond classroom lessons for those who want to push further.

Sport and competition

The Sporting Stars updates provide unusually detailed examples. Year 3 and Year 4 pupils attended a school sports partnership netball tournament with two teams, Lions and Tigers, with first and second places reported. A Key Stage 2 dance festival linked movement with a scientific theme, magnets and the ideas of attraction and repulsion. The Year 5 and Year 6 football team competed in an EFL Utilita Kids Cup tournament run by Exeter City Community Trust, progressing through group stages and knockouts, then winning a final on penalties to reach regional finals.

That level of participation suggests sport is not only recreational but also structured, competitive, and varied across year groups.

The school day begins with pupils welcomed into classrooms after 8:50am for a 9:00am start. The published finish time is 3:30pm. The timetable is slightly different by phase, with Foundation sessions 9:00am to 12:00pm and 1:00pm to 3:30pm; Key Stage 1 breaks 10:30am to 10:50am and lunchtime 12:15pm to 1:15pm; Key Stage 2 breaks 10:50am to 11:10am and lunchtime 12:30pm to 1:30pm. The school states it provides 32.5 hours of compulsory education per week.

Wraparound care is a key factor for many working families. On the pages reviewed, specific breakfast club or after-school provision details were not clearly published. Families should ask directly about start times for any clubs, supervision windows, and whether provision is run by the school or an external provider.

For travel, many families will use car drop-off and local bus options. The wider area is served by Stagecoach service 39, connecting Newton Abbot and Exeter via Chudleigh and nearby towns, which can be relevant for staff travel and older siblings on secondary routes.

• Oversubscription pressure. With 61 applications for 57 offers in the most recent admissions snapshot, demand is close to capacity. Families should plan for the reality that small year-group variations can change outcomes quickly.

• Faith character is real. This is a Church of England school with an explicit Christian vision and published Christian values. Families who prefer a fully secular ethos should read the school’s approach to worship and Religious Education closely before applying.

• Curriculum consistency beyond English and maths. External review flags that assessment practice in some foundation subjects needs strengthening so learning builds more securely over time. Ask what has changed since the December 2022 inspection, especially around how teachers check prior knowledge and address gaps.

• Wraparound clarity. If you need care beyond 3:30pm, verify provision early. Do not assume availability or spaces without confirming directly.

This is a high-capacity, values-driven Devon primary with outcomes that sit comfortably above England average, and a school culture shaped by Christian principles expressed through everyday behaviours. It suits families who want a clear moral framework, strong core academics, and opportunities that extend into community service, music, and competitive sport. The main constraint is admissions capacity; the education looks strong, but securing a place is the variable.