Castle Hill Primary School

Castle Hill Primary is a friendly, welcoming school with a calm and purposeful atmosphere. Inspectors found behaviour and early years provision exceptional, and pupils' attitudes to learning highly positive. The quality of education, personal development and leadership and management are good. Pupils achieve well by the end of key stage 2, especially in English and mathematics, and children get a strong start in Reception. The curriculum is ambitious and generally well sequenced, with strong staff subject knowledge in most subjects, effective assessment and well-targeted SEND support. Reading is taught early and struggling pupils are helped to catch up. Pupils benefit from trips, clubs and leadership roles, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about leadership's consideration of workload and well-being. Some wider curriculum subjects are still being refined, so pupils do not always build knowledge securely, and curriculum leadership lacks consistent oversight in a few areas to identify staff development needs. Pupils' understanding of some fundamental British values and religions is limited, which does not prepare them as well as it could for life in modern Britain. The inspection was the school's first routine inspection since the pandemic and followed recent changes to senior leadership, staffing and governance; no overall effectiveness grade is awarded under the current framework.

Strengths

• Friendly and welcoming school community
• Calm and purposeful atmosphere
• Exceptional pupil behaviour and highly positive attitudes to learning
• High expectations that pupils consistently meet
• Strong early years provision that gives children a flying start
• Ambitious and generally well-sequenced curriculum
• Strong staff subject knowledge and skilful questioning in most subjects
• Effective systems for identifying and supporting pupils with SEND
• Effective assessment used to address misconceptions and gaps
• Strong early reading support so pupils read fluently and confidently
• Wide range of trips, clubs and leadership opportunities
• Pupils feel safe and learn how to stay safe
• Effective safeguarding arrangements
• Staff value leaders' consideration of workload and well-being

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum in a few subjects is still being refined and does not help pupils build knowledge securely
• Curriculum leadership lacks consistent oversight in some wider subjects, limiting identification of staff development needs
• Pupils have limited understanding of some fundamental British values and religions, weakening preparation for modern Britain

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 Castle Hill Primary School attended 95.8% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.0% 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, 1.4% of pupils at Castle Hill 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 Castle Hill Primary School had 22.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 27.2% 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, 8.5% of pupils at Castle Hill Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.8% 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 Castle Hill Primary School received £6,844 and spent £6,659 for each of its 211 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £319,000 (£1,513 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 Gloucester · Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

What is Castle Hill Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Castle Hill Primary School is Good, from an inspection in June 2025.

When was Castle Hill Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Castle Hill Primary School was last inspected in June 2025.

How many pupils does Castle Hill Primary School have?

Castle Hill Primary School has 211 pupils on roll.

What age range does Castle Hill Primary School cover?

Castle Hill Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Castle Hill Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 61% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Castle Hill Primary School?

Castle Hill Primary School is at Abbotswood Road, Brockworth, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, GL3 4NU.