Bidwell Brook School
Shinner's Bridge, Dartington, Totnes, TQ9 6JU
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Foundation special school
- Ages
- 3 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- SENtient Trust
- Executive Headteacher
- Mrs Nikki Burroughs
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Federation
- Learn to Live Federation
- SEN provision
- SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- South Devon
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 140
- Pupils on roll
- 151
- URN
- 113643
- Local authority
- Devon
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01803864120
About this school
Bidwell Brook School is a foundation special school in Totnes. It teaches children aged 3 to 19 and has 151 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 13 | 8 | 8 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Average scaled score in reading | - | - | - |
| Average scaled score in maths | - | - | - |
| Reading progress | -2.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.30 | - | - |
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.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 10 | 14 | 15 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Bidwell Brook 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 | 0% | 55% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 0% | 54.9% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 0% | 57.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 158 |
| 2023/24 | 154 |
| 2024/25 | 153 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 50%
- English as an additional language
- 1.3%
- Overall absence
- 10.88%
- Persistent absence
- 34.71%
Location
Nearby schools
-
River Dart Academy0.2 miles
Academies · Dartington
-
Lifeworks College0.2 miles
Other types · Totnes
-
Redwood River School0.3 miles
Special schools · Totnes
-
On Track Education West Yarner0.7 miles
Special schools · Totnes
-
South Devon Steiner School1.0 miles
Independent schools
Other schools in Totnes
- Lifeworks College Other types
- On Track Education Totnes Special schools
- On Track Education West Yarner Special schools
- Redwood River School Special schools
- ROC College (part of United Response) Other types
- Berry Pomeroy Parochial CofE Primary School Primary
- Blackawton Primary School Primary
- Broadhempston Village Primary School Primary
- Dartington Church of England Academy Primary
- Diptford Parochial Church of England Primary School Primary
- East Allington Primary School Primary
- Harbertonford Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Bidwell Brook School teach?
- Bidwell Brook School teaches children aged 3 to 19. It is a special school in Totnes.
- Who is the executive headteacher of Bidwell Brook School?
- The executive headteacher of Bidwell Brook School is Mrs Nikki Burroughs, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Bidwell Brook School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Bidwell Brook 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 Bidwell Brook School?
- Bidwell Brook School has 151 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 19.
- Is Bidwell Brook School full?
- Bidwell Brook School has capacity for 140 pupils and 151 on roll (108%), 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 Bidwell Brook School a faith school?
- No. Bidwell Brook School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs Bidwell Brook School?
- Bidwell Brook School is part of SENtient Trust. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does Bidwell Brook School have?
- The schools register lists Bidwell Brook School's special educational needs provision as: SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Bidwell Brook School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 0% in 2022/23 and 0% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Bidwell Brook School's absence rate?
- Bidwell Brook School's overall absence rate is 10.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Bidwell Brook School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Bidwell Brook 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.