We are a village school, and some of our year groups contain only a few children. We publish our results openly, in line with Department for Education practice — and where a group contains fewer than six children, we do not publish percentages, to protect individual pupils. Children are assessed nationally at several points on their journey through South Darley, and this page shows every one of them. Behind every figure on it is a child we know and cherish.

How our children do

In 2026, 75 per cent of South Darley’s Year 6 children reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths together, against 63 per cent nationally. Eight children sat the tests, so each child accounts for 12.5 per cent and percentages move sharply from year to year. Their average scaled scores were 108.5 in reading and 107.5 in maths, where 100 is the expected standard and the national averages were 106 and 105. A quarter of the year group reached the higher standard in all three subjects, against 9 per cent nationally.

In 2026, every Year 2 child had passed the national phonics screening check by the end of Key Stage 1, against a national average of around 89 per cent. The school achieved the same result in 2023, the most recent previous year with a reportable Year 2 cohort.

Across the four years from 2023 to 2026, 13 of the 17 children completing Reception at South Darley achieved a Good Level of Development — 76 per cent, against a national average of around 68 per cent. Reception groups here are usually fewer than six children, so we pool four years rather than publish a single-year percentage.

In the Year 4 multiplication tables check, South Darley’s average score has been above the national average in both years for which national figures exist — 23.4 against 20.6 in 2024, and 22.1 against 21.0 in 2025. The 2026 average was 22.1; national figures follow later in the year.

Our own termly assessment, which covers every child rather than the sampled year groups, put around four in five pupils in Years 1 to 6 at or above age-related expectations in reading, writing and maths at the end of 2025/26. This is the school’s own information and is not externally validated, which is why we show it separately.

Full tables, including the measures where we sit below the national average, are below.

Key Stage 2 — how our Year 6 children did in 2026

In summer 2026, 8 children sat the Key Stage 2 tests, so each child's result is represented by 12.5%. Percentages can therefore move significantly from year to year, and scaled scores, where 100 is the expected standard, give a more stable picture of individual attainment. That is why we show this year as children first and percentages second.

The national figures show how many children out of eight you would expect to reach each standard if the national average applied to a group the size of ours. Exact percentages for our school and for England are in the tables below.

The full figures

Writing is assessed by teachers rather than by a test, so it does not have a scaled score. The combined measure draws all three subjects together, so it does not have one either.

Our 2026 results are final. National figures are the Department for Education's initial 2026 national averages, published 16 July 2026; the DfE publishes revised figures in December 2026. Progress scores for this year group are due to be published by the DfE in December 2026, and we will add them to this page when they are released.

Compare our full results — including previous years — on the DfE website ›

The other national assessments

Children are assessed at three further points before Year 6:

Early Years Foundation Stage (end of Reception)

Our Reception groups are typically smaller than six children, so in line with DfE practice we do not publish single-year percentages. Across the last four years (2023–2026), 13 of the 17 children completing Reception at South Darley achieved a Good Level of Development — 76%, against a national average of around 68%.

Phonics (Years 1 and 2)

In 2026, every child in Year 2 — 100% — had passed the national phonics screening check by the end of Key Stage 1, against a national average of around 89%. This was also the school's result in 2023, the most recent previous year with a reportable Year 2 cohort.

Multiplication Tables Check (Year 4)

National figures for 2026 are published later in the year, and we will add them here when they are available. In both years for which national figures are available, our Year 4 children's average score has been above the national average.

Our own assessment, across the whole school

This is the school's own assessment information, shared for openness; unlike the figures above, it is not externally validated, and we present it separately for that reason.