Instow Community Primary and Pre-School
Rectory Lane, Instow, Bideford, EX39 4LU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- Atlantic Coast Co-Operative Trust
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lucy Mardling
- Constituency
- North Devon
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 140
- Pupils on roll
- 136
- URN
- 113156
- Local authority
- Devon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01271860545
About this school
Instow Community Primary and Pre-School is a foundation primary school in Bideford. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 136 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 4 May 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 23 | 18 | 18 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 83% | 50% | 72% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 91% | 78% | 89% |
| Expected standard in maths | 91% | 67% | 83% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 56% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 104.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 103.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.10 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Instow Community Primary and Pre-School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Devon average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 83% | 55% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 50% | 54.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 72% | 57.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 142 |
| 2023/24 | 138 |
| 2024/25 | 138 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Instow Community Primary and Pre-School compares
Instow Community Primary and Pre-School ranked 67th of 269 primary schools in Devon for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 72% | 4.2% | 10.1% | 136 | — |
| Appledore School | 79% | 4.3% | 17.2% | 244 | 1.4 miles |
| Fremington Primary School | 46% | 5.9% | 18.8% | 309 | 1.9 miles |
| St George's CofE Infant and Nursery School | — | 5.3% | 17.8% | 110 | 2.3 miles |
| St Margaret's Church of England Junior School | 46% | 6.9% | 23.4% | 184 | 2.4 miles |
| St Mary's CofE Primary School | 57% | 5.1% | 16.3% | 397 | 2.9 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 10.14%
- English as an additional language
- 2.9%
- Overall absence
- 4.16%
- Persistent absence
- 7.44%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Appledore School1.4 miles
Primary · Bideford
-
Fremington Primary School1.9 miles
Primary · Barnstaple
-
St George's CofE Infant and Nursery School2.3 miles
Primary · Bideford
-
St Margaret's Church of England Junior School2.4 miles
Primary · Bideford
-
St Mary's CofE Primary School2.9 miles
Primary · Bideford
Other schools in Bideford
Instow Community Primary and Pre-School ranks 4th of the 12 ranked primary schools in Bideford.
- Appledore School Primary
- Buckland Brewer Primary School Primary
- East-the-Water Community Primary School Primary
- Hartland Primary School Primary
- Monkleigh Primary School Primary
- Parkham Primary School Primary
- St George's CofE Infant and Nursery School Primary
- St Helen's Church of England School Primary
- St Margaret's Church of England Junior School Primary
- St Mary's CofE Primary School Primary
- West Croft School Primary
- Woolsery Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Instow Community Primary and Pre-School teach?
- Instow Community Primary and Pre-School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Bideford.
- Who is the headteacher of Instow Community Primary and Pre-School?
- The headteacher of Instow Community Primary and Pre-School is Mrs Lucy Mardling, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Instow Community Primary and Pre-School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Instow Community Primary and Pre-School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Instow Community Primary and Pre-School?
- Instow Community Primary and Pre-School has 136 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Instow Community Primary and Pre-School full?
- Instow Community Primary and Pre-School has capacity for 140 pupils and 136 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Instow Community Primary and Pre-School a faith school?
- No. Instow Community Primary and Pre-School has no designated religious character.
- Does Instow Community Primary and Pre-School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Instow Community Primary and Pre-School as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Instow Community Primary and Pre-School?
- Instow Community Primary and Pre-School is part of Atlantic Coast Co-Operative Trust. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Instow Community Primary and Pre-School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 83% in 2022/23 and 72% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Instow Community Primary and Pre-School rank locally?
- Instow Community Primary and Pre-School ranked 67th of 269 primary schools in Devon for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 81% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Instow Community Primary and Pre-School's absence rate?
- Instow Community Primary and Pre-School's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Instow Community Primary and Pre-School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Instow Community Primary and Pre-School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.