Tirlebrook Primary School

Tirlebrook Primary School is a school in transition, with current leaders taking the right actions to address longstanding weaknesses, but much of this work is too recent to have demonstrable impact. The early years provision is a clear strength, with an ambitious curriculum that prepares children very well for Year 1. However, pupils' experiences in key stages 1 and 2 are much more mixed. Over time, pupils have underachieved, particularly in writing and mathematics, and have not been well prepared for secondary school. Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND have been particularly poorly served in the past, though current teaching is helping many to catch up.

Strengths

• The early years curriculum is ambitious and well sequenced, ensuring children are very well prepared for Year 1.
• Staff in early years use secure subject knowledge to implement the curriculum effectively across all areas of learning.
• Pupils learn phonics effectively and read well across the school.
• Recent improvements to the teaching of writing are taking hold, with better handwriting, punctuation, grammar, and content.
• The school uses additional funding for disadvantaged pupils increasingly effectively, and their gaps are beginning to close.
• Governors have sharpened their practice and are now holding the school to account stringently.
• Leaders provide a detailed programme of professional development that is improving staff subject knowledge.
• The school has strengthened its work to improve attendance since September 2025, and attendance is improving.
• Suspensions have decreased and are used appropriately.
• Pupils receive highly effective pastoral support in many cases.
• The school tracks pupils' participation in enrichment activities, ensuring all pupils can access opportunities.
• Developing pupils' artistic and musical talent is prioritised, with learning the violin a highlight for many.
• Pupils take pride in undertaking leadership roles such as school councillor or house captain.

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils' attainment in writing and mathematics is below national averages, and they are not well prepared for secondary school.
• There are weaknesses in the implementation of the curriculum across subjects and classes, and in some classes learning time is not maximised.
• Staff's subject knowledge and use of assessment remain weak in some areas, leaving gaps in pupils' mathematical skills such as telling the time and problem solving.
• Some teaching does not enable pupils to deepen their understanding of complex subject content.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND have not been supported well enough in previous years, and there remain weaknesses in the implementation of academic and pastoral support for some pupils.
• The behaviour policy is not applied consistently by staff, and it has taken too long to address pupils' and parents' concerns about behaviour.
• A minority of parents remain dissatisfied with communication and how the school deals with concerns.
• Personal development curriculum has weaknesses in some staff's subject knowledge, leading to gaps in pupils' knowledge.
• A minority of pupils do not have the resilience and perseverance to excel personally and academically.
• Whole-school systems, such as record-keeping around behaviour incidents and bullying, are not complete.
• Some aspects of the school's development work are recent, so it is too early to have demonstrable impact.

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 Tirlebrook Primary School attended 94.9% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.2% 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, 3.6% of pupils at Tirlebrook 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 Tirlebrook Primary School had 20.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 30.8% 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, 18.1% of pupils at Tirlebrook Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 6.7% 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 Tirlebrook Primary School received £7,486 and spent £8,082 for each of its 194 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £162,000 (-£837 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 Tewkesbury · Gloucestershire local authority: places and applications

What is Tirlebrook Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Tirlebrook Primary School is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Tirlebrook Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Tirlebrook Primary School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Tirlebrook Primary School have?

Tirlebrook Primary School has 193 pupils on roll.

What age range does Tirlebrook Primary School cover?

Tirlebrook Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 40% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Tirlebrook Primary School?

Tirlebrook Primary School is at Brensham Road, Newtown, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 8EW.