Southrop Church of England Primary School

Southrop Church of England Primary School is a very small, inclusive village primary with 38 pupils on roll and a well-above-average proportion of pupils with EHC plans. This full inspection found a school that is well led and highly regarded by parents, with safeguarding standards met. Personal development and wellbeing is a major strength: pupils are safe, respectful, articulate about equality and healthy relationships, and benefit from strong pastoral care and a wide range of enrichment and leadership opportunities. The curriculum is logically sequenced, phonics and early reading are firmly embedded, and early years, inclusion and leadership and governance are all secure. Pupils also achieve well in national tests, although the very small cohorts mean published outcomes vary significantly year on year. Two important areas require further work. Achievement needs attention because too many pupils have significant gaps in early writing, spelling and handwriting, work in books does not consistently match leaders' high expectations or published outcomes, and progress is uneven across subjects and year groups. Assessment is not always precise enough, and opportunities to deepen pupils' knowledge are sometimes missed. Attendance is also a concern: overall absence and persistent absence are above national averages, and too many pupils miss substantial learning, despite leaders' strengthened oversight and support. Leaders have responded to previous improvement points and are working with the local authority, other schools and external agencies to develop practice. The school's inclusive ethos, committed governors, positive staff culture and supportive parent body provide a strong foundation. However, the new handwriting and spelling scheme is in its early stages, and more strategic work is needed to embed foundational learning and improve attendance so that all pupils benefit fully.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe.
• Personal development and wellbeing is a coherent and inclusive strength.
• Comprehensive pastoral support includes emotional literacy support and a nurture room.
• Pupils are respectful, inclusive and articulate about equality, diversity and healthy relationships.
• Pupils learn how to stay safe online and in their locality.
• A wide range of enrichment, fundraising, performance and leadership opportunities is provided for all pupils.
• The curriculum is sequenced to build knowledge and skills over time.
• Teachers generally deliver the curriculum as intended with secure subject knowledge and effective strategies.
• Phonics and early reading are embedded, and struggling readers receive effective additional practice.
• Early years provision is well designed, with strong communication, language and early writing development.
• Inclusion systems identify barriers accurately and usually provide appropriate help at the right time.
• Extra funding is used effectively, including for music tuition and early reading support.
• Leaders have addressed previous improvement areas and work with the local authority and other schools.
• Governors fulfil statutory duties, know the school well and seek training to challenge and support effectively.
• Staff feel valued, and leaders prioritise workload and wellbeing.
• Parents are overwhelmingly supportive and value the school's family feel.
• Pupils behave very well, have positive attitudes and bullying is extremely rare.
• Pupils typically achieve well in national tests and examinations.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND have positive attitudes and progress well from their starting points.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement needs attention: too many pupils have significant gaps in early writing and spelling.
• Staff do not address gaps in foundational writing and spelling quickly enough.
• Work in books does not meet leaders' high expectations or match published outcomes.
• Expectations of presentation in pupils' work are inconsistent.
• Pupils' progress is inconsistent across subjects and year groups.
• Not all pupils securely gain the essential knowledge needed for the next stage of education.
• Assessment checks are sometimes not precise enough to inform teaching.
• Opportunities to deepen pupils' knowledge and understanding are sometimes missed.
• Attendance needs attention: too many pupils miss large chunks of learning.
• Overall absence and persistent absence are above national averages.
• Attendance dropped further in the first part of the last academic year.
• More strategic work with external agencies is needed to promote high attendance and challenge poor attendance.
• Adaptations for pupils with SEND could be more precise and targeted.
• Some leadership aspects still need to be embedded or improved.
• The new handwriting and spelling scheme is in its early stages, so impact is not yet proven.

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 Southrop Church of England Primary School attended 94.0% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 19.5% 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, 2.6% of pupils at Southrop Church of England 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 Southrop Church of England Primary School had 13.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.2% 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, 21.4% of pupils at Southrop Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 7.1% 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 Southrop Church of England Primary School received £11,430 and spent £12,031 for each of its 42 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £29,000 (-£691 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 Cotswold · Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

What is Southrop Church of England Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Southrop Church of England Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Southrop Church of England Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Southrop Church of England Primary School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Southrop Church of England Primary School have?

Southrop Church of England Primary School has 42 pupils on roll.

What age range does Southrop Church of England Primary School cover?

Southrop Church of England Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Southrop Church of England Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 78% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Southrop Church of England Primary School?

Southrop Church of England Primary School is at Southrop, Southrop C of E Primary School, Lechlade, Gloucestershire, GL7 3NU.