Marchbank Free School

State-Funded School

marchbank-free-school-darlington-north-east

North EastRegion

DarlingtonLocal Authority

DarlingtonConstituency

DL3 9BLPostcode

0.7

Academic Performance

Ofsted

About the School

Marchbank Free School is a state-funded special for pupils aged 5–11, located in Darlington, North East.

The school is rated Good by Ofsted. It currently serves 63 pupils. Marchbank Free School is part of The Education Village Academy Trust.

Ofsted Rating

Safeguarding effective

Yes

Rating last maintained

2024

Subject Areas

Leadership &management

Good

Quality ofeducation

Good

Personaldevelopment

Outstanding

Behaviour &attitudes

Outstanding

Academic Performance

Well below average

Ranked against primary schools in England · 2023-24

Reading, writing & maths: 6%
Higher standard: 0%
Reading score: 102
Maths score: 92

Ethnicity

White

90%

Mixed

Unclassified

Pupils

Total Pupils

84%Boys

16%Girls

Pupil Characteristics

Free school meals

67%

England average

27%

First language not English

England average

22%

Young carers

England average

0%25%50%75%100%

DfE school census, January 2026.

Key Information

Phase: Special
Age range: 5 – 11
Deprivation band: Deprived
Total pupils: 63
IDACI quintile: 4 (Less deprived)
MAT name: The Education Village Academy Trust

Inspection history

3 graded inspections published by Ofsted. Ungraded and monitoring visits are not shown.

Report published					Overall
3 Mar 2024	Good	Good	Outstanding	Outstanding	Good
15 Sept 2021	Good	Requires improvement	Good	Good	Requires improvement
24 Sept 2019	Inadequate	Not reported in this inspection	Not reported in this inspection	Not reported in this inspection	Inadequate

A grey dot means Ofsted did not report that judgement in the inspection of the day — the sub-judgements shown here were introduced with the 2019 framework.

Ofsted data as at 31 December 2024. A school may have been inspected since, or had an ungraded visit that does not change its grade — check Ofsted’s own record.