Sowe Valley Primary School

Overall, this is a highly inclusive primary school where pupils feel happy, safe and valued. The school serves a community with high levels of disadvantage and a well-above-average proportion of pupils with SEN support, and leaders have created a nurturing, ambitious environment that helps most pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, access the same curriculum as their peers. Inclusion is a particular strength: staff know pupils well, adapt learning precisely and work closely with families and external agencies. Behaviour is calm and respectful, attendance is improving rapidly, and enrichment and pastoral care are strong. Performance is generally in line with expectations. Most pupils achieve well by the end of Year 6 in reading, writing and mathematics, and early years children get a solid start. However, historical underachievement has left some gaps, and too few pupils reach high standards in reading compared with national outcomes. In some subjects, misconceptions are not always fully addressed, so gaps in knowledge can remain. Attendance has improved but overall absence is still above national levels, and leaders have rightly identified the need to ensure consistently high attendance and consistent use of assessment to close gaps. Leadership, governance, curriculum, early years, behaviour and personal development are all sound, with no safeguarding concerns. The school is well placed to continue improving, with clear next steps focused on assessment and attendance.

Strengths

• Highly inclusive culture with a strong sense of belonging for all pupils.
• Strong support for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, with precise adaptations to learning.
• High-quality staff training and close work with families and external agencies.
• Calm, orderly environment with consistently high behaviour expectations and rare bullying.
• Thoughtfully designed curriculum that builds knowledge securely across subjects.
• Effective phonics teaching and a strong focus on early reading, writing and mathematics.
• Most pupils achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.
• Well-established early years provision that develops vocabulary, routines and independence.
• Ambitious leadership and governance with a clear focus on staff wellbeing.
• Rich personal development, pastoral care and inclusive enrichment opportunities.
• Safeguarding standards are met.

Areas for Improvement

• Too few pupils consistently achieve high standards in reading compared with national outcomes.
• In some subjects, misconceptions are identified but not always fully addressed, leaving gaps in pupils' knowledge.
• Gaps in learning for some pupils are not always addressed as well as they could be.
• Overall absence remains above the national average, and leaders need to ensure consistently high attendance.
• Staff do not always use assessment information consistently to address gaps in pupils' knowledge.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Sowe Valley Primary School attended 93.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 15.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.4% of pupils at Sowe Valley Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Sowe Valley Primary School had 20.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 0.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 26.2% of pupils at Sowe Valley Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 1.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Sowe Valley Primary School received £8,265 and spent £8,519 for each of its 210 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £36,000 (£171 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Coventry · Coventry local authority: places and applications

What is Sowe Valley Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sowe Valley Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Sowe Valley Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sowe Valley Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Sowe Valley Primary School have?

Sowe Valley Primary School has 210 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sowe Valley Primary School cover?

Sowe Valley Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Sowe Valley Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 62% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sowe Valley Primary School?

Sowe Valley Primary School is at Princethorpe Way, Coventry, West Midlands, CV3 2QX.