Sonning Common Primary School

Sonning Common Primary School continues to be recognized as a good school, showcasing a nurturing and respectful environment where pupils feel included and valued. The community-oriented atmosphere is heightened by the positive interactions among students and staff, and pupils demonstrate a strong willingness to learn. The school offers an impressive array of extracurricular activities and valuable experiences through visits from professional guest speakers that further enrich the pupils' educational journey. Academic achievement, particularly in reading and special educational needs support, stands out as a significant strength of the school.

Strengths

• Pupils feel included and have a strong sense of community.
• Teachers provide effective support for pupils with special educational needs.
• The school offers a broad range of extracurricular activities.
• Reading is prioritized, with effective phonics teaching.
• Pupils are polite and friendly towards each other and staff.

Areas for Improvement

• In some foundation subjects, pupils lack secure knowledge and confidence in applying key concepts.

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 Sonning Common Primary School attended 95.3% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 10.6% 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, 3.9% of pupils at Sonning Common 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 Sonning Common Primary School had 20.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 16.4% 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, 9.2% of pupils at Sonning Common Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.1% 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 Sonning Common Primary School received £8,129 and spent £8,243 for each of its 292 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £161,000 (£552 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 Reading · Oxfordshire local authority: places and applications

What is Sonning Common Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Sonning Common Primary School is Good, from an inspection in October 2023.

When was Sonning Common Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Sonning Common Primary School was last inspected in October 2023.

How many pupils does Sonning Common Primary School have?

Sonning Common Primary School has 292 pupils on roll.

What age range does Sonning Common Primary School cover?

Sonning Common Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

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

In 2025, 70% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Sonning Common Primary School?

Sonning Common Primary School is at Grove Road, Sonning Common, Reading, Berkshire, RG4 9RJ.