Monks Risborough CofE Primary School

Monks Risborough CofE Primary School is a welcoming, inclusive church school that inspectors found to be performing well. The school's early years provision and its personal development and wellbeing offer are both graded Strong standard, while achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, and leadership and governance are at Expected standard. Safeguarding standards are met. The school is a Church of England primary in the Diocese of Oxford with 209 pupils, including an above-average proportion of pupils with EHC plans. Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum, and the early years is a particular strength: children achieve very well, phonics outcomes are above national averages, and transition to key stage 1 is effective. Pupils behave well, feel safe, and benefit from a coherent personal development programme, strong pastoral care, and a wide range of sporting, artistic and musical opportunities. The school is inclusive, identifies needs quickly, and works well with external professionals and families. Staff morale is extremely high, and governors provide robust challenge. Inspectors identified two main areas for improvement. Assessment checks are not consistently effective, meaning gaps in pupils' knowledge are not always identified and addressed, especially for pupils with SEND. Attendance, while improving and broadly in line with national averages, remains variable for a small number of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. Leaders should sustain their work to ensure these groups attend school regularly.

Strengths

• Ambitious early years curriculum built around children's interests and starting points.
• Strong phonics teaching with outcomes above national averages.
• High-quality staff interactions that extend vocabulary and communication.
• Warm, nurturing relationships with parents and carers.
• Coherent personal development programme tailored to local context.
• Effective pastoral support and a strong culture of safeguarding.
• Broad range of musical, artistic and sporting opportunities for all pupils.
• Calm and orderly behaviour; pupils are courteous and respectful.
• Attendance is improving and broadly in line with national averages.
• Leaders have a secure overview of curriculum and teaching quality.
• Well-planned professional development contributes to effective teaching.
• Staff morale is extremely high; workload is manageable.
• Governors provide robust challenge and ensure statutory duties are met.
• Strong community relationships; parents value the school highly.
• Inclusive approach with quick identification of SEND and effective external support.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent assessment checks mean gaps in pupils' knowledge are not always identified or addressed, particularly for pupils with SEND.
• Attendance remains variable for some disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, who do not attend as regularly as their peers.
• Leaders need to sustain work to improve attendance and further strengthen assessment to ensure all pupils achieve highly.

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 Monks Risborough CofE Primary School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 12.4% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Monks Risborough CofE 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 Monks Risborough CofE Primary School had 21.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 7.5% 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, 16.7% of pupils at Monks Risborough CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.2% 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 Monks Risborough CofE Primary School received £6,680 and spent £6,844 for each of its 216 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £80,000 (£369 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 Princes Risborough · Buckinghamshire local authority: places and applications

What is Monks Risborough CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Monks Risborough CofE Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Monks Risborough CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Monks Risborough CofE Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Monks Risborough CofE Primary School have?

Monks Risborough CofE Primary School has 216 pupils on roll.

What age range does Monks Risborough CofE Primary School cover?

Monks Risborough CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Monks Risborough CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 58% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Monks Risborough CofE Primary School?

Monks Risborough CofE Primary School is at Peters Lane, Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, HP27 9LZ.