Fair Furlong Primary School

Fair Furlong Primary School is a caring, inclusive community school that is performing well overall. This was its first routine inspection since the pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2015, when it was judged outstanding and later exempt from routine inspection. Since September 2024, schools no longer receive an overall effectiveness grade. Inspectors found strong provision across the key areas, with pupils happy, safe and well behaved, and with effective early years and reading provision. The school has high expectations and has improved its curriculum recently, particularly where published outcomes had been below national averages. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are accurately identified and achieve well, and staff have secure subject knowledge. Personal development is a notable strength, including a wide range of clubs, trips, visitors and community activities, and recent action on attendance is beginning to have a positive effect. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main areas for improvement concern how well the school understands and checks the impact of its curriculum in some subjects. In some wider curriculum subjects, assessment is not used well enough, so some pupils have gaps in knowledge and later learning is not adapted well enough. The school also does not yet have an accurate view of how well some subject curriculums are implemented, which limits its ability to address shortcomings.

Strengths

• Caring and inclusive ethos with strong relationships among staff, pupils and families.
• High expectations and positive pupil response, with purposeful and calm classrooms.
• Pupils behave well in lessons and outdoors and play happily together.
• Effective early years provision and transition arrangements help children settle quickly.
• Strong reading culture with early phonics support and quick catch-up for pupils at risk.
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge and explain content and vocabulary accurately.
• Pupils with SEND have their needs accurately identified and achieve well.
• Broad personal development offer, including clubs, trips, visitors and community activities.
• Strong emphasis on British values, respect, cultural diversity and healthy relationships.
• Robust recent action to improve attendance, with early signs of positive impact.
• Effective safeguarding arrangements.
• Governors have an accurate view of the school and provide challenge and support.

Areas for Improvement

• The school does not yet have an accurate understanding of how well some subject curriculums are implemented.
• Assessment is not used well enough in some wider curriculum subjects.
• Some pupils have gaps in knowledge and subsequent learning is not adapted well enough.

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 Fair Furlong Primary School attended 91.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 27.5% 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, 2.4% of pupils at Fair Furlong 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 Fair Furlong Primary School had 19.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.2% 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, 21.1% of pupils at Fair Furlong Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.2% 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 Fair Furlong Primary School received £8,090 and spent £8,457 for each of its 441 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £36,000 (£81 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

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What is Fair Furlong Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Fair Furlong Primary School is Good, from an inspection in February 2025.

When was Fair Furlong Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Fair Furlong Primary School was last inspected in February 2025.

How many pupils does Fair Furlong Primary School have?

Fair Furlong Primary School has 454 pupils on roll.

What age range does Fair Furlong Primary School cover?

Fair Furlong Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are Fair Furlong Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 28% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Fair Furlong Primary School?

Fair Furlong Primary School is at Vowell Close, Withywood, Bristol, BS13 9HS.