Theale C.E. Primary School

Theale C.E. Primary School is performing exceptionally well. Inspectors found a highly ambitious and expertly designed curriculum, strong teaching, and consistently high outcomes for pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Reading is prioritised from the start, the early years provision gives children an excellent beginning, and pupils’ behaviour and attendance are exemplary. The school’s wider offer is a particular strength. Pupils benefit from rich personal development opportunities, including leadership roles, performing arts, cultural sessions, sporting events and community links. Staff feel valued and supported, leaders and governors are relentless in pursuing improvement, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The school also has a specially resourced provision for pupils with autism, and pupils in this provision are fully included in school life. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and inspectors took the pandemic’s impact into account. No areas of concern or weakness were identified in the report; the school was judged outstanding across all inspected areas and remains outstanding overall.

Strengths

• Expertly designed curriculum that builds learning logically over time
• Teachers use excellent subject knowledge and teach with flair and confidence
• Pupils remember learning well and achieve highly in national tests
• Early years provision gives children an excellent start and supports independence
• Reading is prioritised and phonics is taught efficiently from the start
• Pupils with SEND, including those in the autism resourced provision, are fully included and achieve very well
• Behaviour is exemplary across the school and attendance rates are high
• Rich personal development opportunities, including performing arts, leadership roles and cultural sessions
• Strong leadership and governance, with staff feeling valued and supported
• Effective safeguarding arrangements

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 Theale C.E. Primary School attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.0% 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, 1.0% of pupils at Theale C.E. 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 Theale C.E. Primary School had 18.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.2% 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, 16.3% of pupils at Theale C.E. Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.0% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

The school has resourced provision with 7 pupils.

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 Theale C.E. Primary School received £8,636 and spent £8,195 for each of its 301 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £75,000 (-£249 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 Reading · West Berkshire local authority: places and applications

What is Theale C.E. Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Theale C.E. Primary School is Outstanding, from an inspection in January 2025.

When was Theale C.E. Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Theale C.E. Primary School was last inspected in January 2025.

How many pupils does Theale C.E. Primary School have?

Theale C.E. Primary School has 301 pupils on roll.

What age range does Theale C.E. Primary School cover?

Theale C.E. Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Theale C.E. Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 89% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Theale C.E. Primary School?

Theale C.E. Primary School is at Englefield Road, Theale C.E. Primary School, Reading, RG7 5AS.