Shute Community Primary School

Shute Community Primary School has been judged good in all inspected areas: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. This follows a previous inspection grade of requires improvement. Inspectors found high expectations, most pupils achieving well, a strong start in the early years, effective reading provision, an improved curriculum, better identification of SEND needs, and effective safeguarding. Pupils benefit from a wide range of extra-curricular and personal development opportunities, and leaders have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and next steps. The school is a small community primary within the Devon Moors Federation, educating pupils aged 3 to 11, and this graded inspection did not result in an overall effectiveness grade.

Strengths

• High expectations support most pupils to achieve well across the curriculum.
• Children get off to a strong start in the early years through meaningful learning opportunities.
• Staff build warm relationships and know children’s needs well.
• Most pupils behave well and understand the school’s golden rules and learning values.
• Pupils benefit from a broad range of extra-curricular activities and wider development experiences.
• The school has improved curriculum sequencing and assessment in recent years.
• Leaders have strengthened how they identify and meet the needs of pupils with SEND.
• Teachers generally have the expertise to implement the curriculum successfully.
• Mathematics teaching helps pupils use mathematical vocabulary accurately.
• Early years teaching has a sharp focus on broadening children’s vocabulary.
• Reading is taught from the start of Reception, with books well matched to pupils’ phonics knowledge.
• There is effective support for pupils who need extra help with reading.
• Pupils are punctual and most attend well.
• The personal, social and health education programme helps pupils understand well-being, safety and empathy.
• Pupils learn about life in modern Britain, democracy and citizenship.
• Pupils contribute to the wider community through charity work, local events and visits to a care home.
• Governors generally gain the insights they need to hold leaders to account.
• Leaders manage staff workload effectively and use professional development well.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In some subjects, work is not matched well enough to pupils’ starting points, so pupils do not gain detailed knowledge.
• For some pupils with SEND, teaching is not adapted to help them secure the precise steps in learning they need.
• Targets for pupils with SEND are sometimes not precise enough to ensure the curriculum is adapted to meet their needs.
• Older pupils sometimes do not concentrate well or listen to adults and each other, which hinders their learning.
• The school does not consistently apply its high expectations and routines for older pupils’ behaviour.

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 Shute Community Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 5.7% 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, 1.3% of pupils at Shute Community 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 Shute Community Primary School had 9.4 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, 6.5% of pupils at Shute Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.3% 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 2020–21 Shute Community Primary School received £6,288 and spent £6,071 for each of its 83 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £15,000 (£183 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 Axminster · Devon local authority: places and applications

What is Shute Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Shute Community Primary School is Good, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Shute Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Shute Community Primary School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Shute Community Primary School have?

Shute Community Primary School has 46 pupils on roll.

What age range does Shute Community Primary School cover?

Shute Community Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Shute Community Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 71% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Shute Community Primary School?

Shute Community Primary School is at Haddon Road, Shute, Axminster, Devon, EX13 7QR.