Gastrells Community Primary School

Gastrells Community Primary School is an inclusive and caring school with a calm, nurturing environment. Pupils feel safe, attend regularly and behave well, and the school’s PRIDE values are evident in daily life. Personal development is a clear strength, with a wide range of clubs, trips and experiences that build pupils’ resilience and interests. Early years provision is also strong, reading is prioritised from Reception, and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are identified and supported well, including through the specialist Merlins communication and interaction centre. However, the quality of education is not yet consistently strong. In some subjects, the curriculum does not build pupils’ knowledge deeply enough, and assessment is not used rigorously to check what pupils know and remember. As a result, pupils’ recall of prior learning can be insecure, and the pace of improvement since the previous inspection has been too slow. Leadership and management require further improvement, although staff feel well supported and governors understand the need to move more quickly. Safeguarding arrangements are effective overall, but records do not always clearly show the actions leaders have taken in response to concerns. Parents have mixed views, with some expressing dissatisfaction while others value the school’s creativity, sports and nurturing environment. The main priorities are to strengthen curriculum coherence, improve assessment across subjects and ensure safeguarding records are consistently clear.

Strengths

• Inclusive, calm and nurturing school culture built around PRIDE values
• Pupils feel safe, attend regularly and behave well
• High expectations for behaviour with respect and kindness
• Rich personal development provision including clubs, trips and residential experiences
• Strong early years provision with clear routines and a well-built curriculum
• Reading prioritised from Reception with books matched to phonics
• Effective identification and support for pupils with SEND
• Bespoke provision for pupils in the Merlins communication and interaction centre
• Carefully considered PSHE curriculum prepares pupils for healthy, safe lives
• Staff feel valued and supported with workload and well-being
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum design in some subjects does not build deep, fluent knowledge
• Assessment systems in some subjects do not rigorously check what pupils know and remember
• Pupils' recall of prior learning can be insecure
• Pace of improvement since the previous inspection has been too slow
• Safeguarding records sometimes do not clearly reflect actions taken
• Some parents are unhappy with the school

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 Gastrells Community Primary School attended 92.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.3% 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, 2.2% of pupils at Gastrells Community Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was 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 Gastrells Community Primary School had 18.5 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 28.3% 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, 16.9% of pupils at Gastrells Community Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 12.2% 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 Gastrells Community Primary School received £8,983 and spent £9,162 for each of its 172 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £129,000 (£750 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 Stroud · Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

What is Gastrells Community Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Gastrells Community Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in July 2025.

When was Gastrells Community Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Gastrells Community Primary School was last inspected in July 2025.

How many pupils does Gastrells Community Primary School have?

Gastrells Community Primary School has 172 pupils on roll.

What age range does Gastrells Community Primary School cover?

Gastrells Community Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 46% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Gastrells Community Primary School?

Gastrells Community Primary School is at Kingscourt Lane, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 3PS.