Mowden Infant School

Darlington · DL3 9QG

General information Infant School · 5-7 years Who goes here 169 pupils, 8.9% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 5.3% on SEN support Behaviour 3.2% absence rate Staff 19.6% turnover Financials £3,114 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Mowden Infant School

General Information

Address: Bushel Hill Drive, Darlington, DL3 9QG – View on map
Phone: 01325380820
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Lexi Wilkinson
Age range: 5-7 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 73 families put it first for 59 places – 12 for every 10 places. 79% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 12 · 2024 9 · 2025 10 · 2026 12
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

169 pupils out of 180 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 15
% eligible for free school meals: 8.9%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (less mixed than the Darlington average)
English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 19.6% a year (Darlington 12%, typical in England 13.9%)
Where they went: about 80% moved to another school, 20% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Darlington: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 1 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 5 (0.6 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state primary schools in Darlington, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 3.2%
Persistently absent pupils: 3.3%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 5.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.4%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Speech, language and communications needs: 5 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Other difficulty or disability: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

View full Ofsted inspection report

2nd of 2 infant schools in Darlington for Ofsted rating

#1Abbey Infants' SchoolGood
#2Mowden Infant SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Abbey Infants' SchoolGood
#2Mowden Infant SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £3,114 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

2nd of 2 infant schools in Darlington for spending per pupil

#1Abbey Infants' School£6,223
#2Mowden Infant School£3,114

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Abbey Infants' School£6,223
#2Mowden Infant School£3,114

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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