Bitterne Church of England Primary School

Bitterne Church of England Primary School is a caring school where pupils are happy, kind and well behaved, and where personal development and safeguarding are clear strengths. Behaviour and attitudes and personal development are good, and leaders have prioritised attendance successfully. However, the quality of education, leadership and management, and early years provision require improvement, and published outcomes in 2024 were significantly below the national average, with many pupils leaving without the literacy and numeracy skills they need. The school is in a period of significant change. The headteacher started in September 2023 and the school joined the St Mary’s Partnership in September 2024. New leaders and governors have renewed ambition and a strategic plan to raise standards, and they are mindful of staff workload. The curriculum is new and ambitious, but teaching is inconsistent, some staff do not check learning well or address misconceptions, and older pupils have gaps in knowledge. Early reading and writing are particular concerns, with a new phonics programme at an early stage of implementation. Early years provision also requires improvement because some adults do not consistently support children to build knowledge or practise what they have learned, so some children are not as well prepared for key stage 1. Pupils with SEND are identified effectively and the school has high expectations for them, but some staff do not make the right adjustments. Safeguarding is effective. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it received no overall effectiveness grade under the current inspection arrangements.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, kind and polite to each other and to visitors.
• The school is calm and pupils respond well to clear behaviour rules and positive management.
• Personal development is strong, helping pupils become responsible, respectful and safe.
• Pupils learn how to look after their physical and mental health and stay safe online.
• Attendance and punctuality are strongly prioritised, and persistent absence has reduced.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• The school identifies pupils with SEND early and has high expectations that they access the same curriculum.
• The new ambitious curriculum is enthusing pupils and provides a clear roadmap of content.
• New leaders show renewed ambition and a strong drive to improve pupils’ life chances.
• Pupils enjoy educational visits, community involvement and virtual reality experiences.

Areas for Improvement

• Published outcomes in 2024 were significantly below the national average.
• Many pupils have gaps in English and mathematics and are not achieving well.
• Some staff are not knowledgeable enough about teaching early reading and writing.
• The new phonics programme is at an early stage and some pupils do not keep up with reading and writing expectations.
• Teaching of the curriculum is inconsistent across the school.
• Some teachers do not check pupils’ learning effectively or provide ambitious tasks.
• Some adults do not spot pupils’ misconceptions, so pupils struggle to complete work and remember key knowledge.
• Weak writing skills hinder pupils’ achievement across the curriculum.
• Some staff do not make the right adjustments for pupils with SEND.
• Early years staff do not consistently provide guidance or activities that help children practise and build knowledge.
• Quality assurance checks are not consistently providing the information needed to improve outcomes.
• Some key strategic priorities have not yet been achieved and changes are not fully evaluated or embedded.

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 Bitterne Church of England Primary School attended 95.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 13.7% 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, 0.7% of pupils at Bitterne 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 Bitterne Church of England Primary School had 21.7 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.1% 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, 16.2% of pupils at Bitterne Church of England Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.5% 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 Bitterne Church of England Primary School received £7,376 and spent £7,397 for each of its 373 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £68,000 (£182 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).

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

The latest Ofsted rating for Bitterne Church of England Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in March 2025.

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

Bitterne Church of England Primary School was last inspected in March 2025.

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

Bitterne Church of England Primary School has 395 pupils on roll.

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

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

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

In 2025, 47% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Bitterne Church of England Primary School?

Bitterne Church of England Primary School is at Brownlow Avenue, Bitterne, Southampton, Hampshire, SO19 7BX.