Bishops Tawton Primary School

Bishops Tawton Primary School is a small school within the Two Rivers Federation, with a governor-led pre-school and a before- and after-school club. Inspectors found the school meeting expected standards across all evaluated areas, with safeguarding standards met. Pupils are proud of their caring school, attendance is high, behaviour is calm and respectful, and most pupils achieve well by the time they leave Year 6. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils progress well from their starting points, and inclusion is a clear strength. Notable concerns include inconsistent phonics teaching because some staff lack the subject knowledge to deliver the programme well, early years interactions that do not always extend children’s learning, and some pupils not retaining key personal development content. Outcomes in higher-level writing and the Year 4 multiplication check have been below national expectations, although leaders have raised expectations in response. Leadership and governance are committed, but oversight in some subjects and by governors sometimes lacks the precision and rigour needed to secure swift improvement.

Strengths

• Most pupils achieve well by the end of Year 6 in national tests.
• Pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils progress well from their starting points.
• Attendance is high and above the national average, with effective personalised support.
• Pupils are kind, polite and respectful, and bullying is rare.
• The curriculum is rich, well sequenced and builds skills progressively from early years to Year 6.
• Children in the early years settle quickly and typically leave Reception well prepared for Year 1.
• Inclusion is strong, with SEND and disadvantaged pupils accessing the full curriculum and extra support.
• Personal development is broad, including trips, music, clubs and outdoor learning.
• Staff are highly positive about leadership and feel their workload and wellbeing are taken seriously.
• Parents are highly supportive of the school and its warm, nurturing atmosphere.

Areas for Improvement

• The proportion of pupils working at a higher level in writing has been below the national average.
• Not enough pupils met national standards in the Year 4 multiplication test.
• Some staff do not have the subject knowledge needed to teach phonics consistently well.
• Some early years interactions do not effectively probe children’s understanding or adapt activities swiftly.
• Leaders’ oversight of some subjects lacks the rigour needed to ensure actions have a swift impact.
• Governors’ knowledge and oversight sometimes lack precision, so governance is not always focused on the most appropriate development areas.
• Some pupils do not remember key information from the personal development curriculum.

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 Bishops Tawton Primary School attended 96.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.7% 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 Bishops Tawton 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 Bishops Tawton Primary School had 19.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 19.5% 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, 4.3% of pupils at Bishops Tawton Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.6% 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 Bishops Tawton Primary School received £8,196 and spent £8,380 for each of its 222 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £108,000 (£488 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). This school files a single return with the other schools in its federation, so the figures are for the whole federation.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Barnstaple · Devon local authority: places and applications

What is Bishops Tawton Primary School's Ofsted rating?

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

When was Bishops Tawton Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Bishops Tawton Primary School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Bishops Tawton Primary School have?

Bishops Tawton Primary School has 161 pupils on roll.

What age range does Bishops Tawton Primary School cover?

Bishops Tawton Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Bishops Tawton Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 54% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bishops Tawton Primary School?

Bishops Tawton Primary School is at School Lane, Bishops Tawton, Barnstaple, Devon, EX32 0AE.