Decoy Primary School
Deer Park Road, Newton Abbot, TQ12 1DH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sally Herbert
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Newton Abbot
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 443
- URN
- 113209
- Local authority
- Devon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01626353282
About this school
Decoy Primary School is a community primary school in Newton Abbot. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 443 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Decoy Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 18 January 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 | 60 | 57 | 61 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 60% | 47% | 48% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 7% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 75% | 79% | 66% |
| Expected standard in maths | 72% | 68% | 57% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 70% | 74% | 56% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 105.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 103.0 | 102.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.20 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.30 | - | - |
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 Decoy Primary 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 | 60% | 55% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 47% | 54.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 48% | 57.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 424 |
| 2023/24 | 428 |
| 2024/25 | 430 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Decoy Primary School compares
Decoy Primary School ranked 211th of 269 primary schools in Devon for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48% | 5.3% | 20.7% | 443 | — |
| Haytor View Community Primary School | — | — | — | 184 | 0.7 miles |
| Bearnes Voluntary Primary School | 31% | 4.3% | 39.6% | 100 | 0.9 miles |
| All Saints Marsh CofE Academy | 85% | 4.6% | 23.8% | 84 | 0.9 miles |
| Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School | 63% | 6.1% | 41.6% | 189 | 0.9 miles |
| Abbotskerswell Primary School | 71% | 3.6% | 11.8% | 102 | 1.1 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)
- 20.73%
- English as an additional language
- 1.6%
- Overall absence
- 5.26%
- Persistent absence
- 10.09%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Haytor View Community Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Newton Abbot
-
Bearnes Voluntary Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Newton Abbot
-
All Saints Marsh CofE Academy0.9 miles
Primary · Newton Abbot
-
Wolborough Church of England Nursery and Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Newton Abbot
-
Abbotskerswell Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Newton Abbot
Other schools in Newton Abbot
Decoy Primary School ranks 22nd of the 27 ranked primary schools in Newton Abbot.
- Abbotskerswell Primary School Primary
- All Saints Marsh CofE Academy Primary
- Ashburton Primary School Primary
- Bearnes Voluntary Primary School Primary
- Blackpool Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bovey Tracey Academy Primary
- Bradley Barton Primary School and Nursery Unit Primary
- Canada Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Chagford Church of England Primary School Primary
- Chudleigh Church of England Community Primary School Primary
- Chudleigh Knighton Church of England Primary School Primary
- Denbury Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Decoy Primary School teach?
- Decoy Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Newton Abbot.
- Who is the headteacher of Decoy Primary School?
- The headteacher of Decoy Primary School is Mrs Sally Herbert, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Decoy Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Decoy Primary 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 many pupils are at Decoy Primary School?
- Decoy Primary School has 443 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Decoy Primary School full?
- Decoy Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 443 on roll (105%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Decoy Primary School a faith school?
- No. Decoy Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Decoy Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Decoy Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Decoy Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 60% in 2022/23 and 48% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Decoy Primary School compare with other schools in Devon?
- Decoy Primary School ranked 211th of 269 primary schools in Devon for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Decoy Primary School's absence rate?
- Decoy Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Decoy Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Decoy Primary 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.